Pep Guardiola Cites Lack of 'Passion' for Man City's Failure to Match Liverpool

Pep Guardiola has admitted that his Manchester City side are 'so far behind' Liverpool and their lack of 'passion' contributed to a meagre defence of the Premier League title.

A 2-1 defeat away to Chelsea on Thursday night confirmed the inevitable, with the Reds securing a maiden Premier League crown with a record-breaking seven matches left to play.

Sitting 23 points adrift following their Stamford Bridge loss, Guardiola's side inability to keep up with Liverpool has provoked some insightful admissions from the Spaniard, who applauded Liverpool's brilliance but bemoaned his side's failings.

"Liverpool were fantastic in consistency throughout the whole season," he said, as quoted by the Daily Mail. "We dropped points at the beginning of the season, and Liverpool didn't drop points.

"We'll have to recover for next season, to be more consistent, and recover the points we missed this season. That's the reality. Two years ago we were 25 points ahead of Liverpool, and now they are this distance ahead.

"We cannot forget that we won two titles. This is incredible success for us, for the club; the last six, seven, eight years."

In terms of why his side were so far behind Jurgen Klopp's men, Guardiola's stark admission that a lack of passion from his City players could have contributed to their season, before confessing the gap between the two sides is bigger than ever.

"Maybe we didn't arrive with the same passion; Liverpool played every single game like it was the last chance they have,", he said.

"And maybe we didn't get that moment, especially the key moments in the first part of the season. That is the reality, that we are so far behind."

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