Pep Guardiola conceded Manchester City’s title defence will be effectively over if they do not beat Liverpool on Thursday.
City’s manager labelled the Premier League leaders the ‘best team in Europe’ ahead of the titanic clash at the Etihad Stadium.
Despite Sunday’s victory at Southampton, Guardiola realises they cannot afford to drop any further points following two shock Christmas defeats.
‘We won a lot of games but unfortunately we lost two and we have a rival who at the moment is the best team in Europe, or in the world,’ Guardiola said.