Watching Manchester City draw their way through the low light of January, Pep Guardiola slumped listlessly in the dugout as if the greyscale of winter had him reflecting on what the third act of his life will look like, those of us in his post-game press conferences had to suppress the rising urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him awake.
When Fulham almost pulled off a comeback from 5-1 down at Craven Cottage in December Guardiola smiled hazily and joked with reporters that, “I’m so old and the players don’t respect me,” a quip that hinted at a deeper truth.
The man who won four Premier League titles in a row would have been furious; would not have contemplated, even sarcastically, that the weight of a decade-long era was taking its toll.
Last weekend, when Tottenham did come back, from 2-0 to draw, Guardiola leaned into an explanation that had become common during a six-game stretch in which Man City won just one Premier League game.
“The momentum is difficult to control, whatever happens here in England,” he said, effectively shrugging his shoulders at the loss of the one thing – control – that always defined his City.
The only conclusion to draw was that Guardiola was not up for the fight and that the club, always a reflection of their manager’s temperament, was drifting towards a trophyless endgame.
Then Anfield happened. Man City’s 2-1 victory on Sunday evening had all the hallmarks of a classic but its iconic status will only be assured if the winners use it to eclipse Arsenal to the title, and they well might, though not because the gap is six points, and not even because a dramatic late winner could gel together a squad that has been playing without fury, without focus, without purpose.
No, it could be the catalyst because it appeared to relight a fire inside Guardiola.
For the final 10 minutes he prowled itchily across his technical area, hands on his head, eyes darting furiously, the image so stark – and so startlingly different from the man we have seen this season – that Gary Neville on co-comms said he was glaring “like a demon”.
After Erling Haaland’s winner he went wild. After Gianluigi Donnarumma’s incredible save he flew into the air and mimicked his goalkeeper’s dive. After the comedy goal that was cruelly disallowed by VAR he was sprinting down the touchline.
It was as if Guardiola had woken up. That should terrify Arsenal supporters.
All of a sudden Man City look absolutely capable of putting one of those spring winning streaks together, not because anything materially has changed but because the players – 12 of whom have never won the title under Guardiola – will have seen, have felt, Guardiola’s true presence for the first time.
Those 12 will have known Guardiola’s genius and heard of his aura, but they won’t really have experienced it before. In fact, before Sunday they might have been fighting off a nagging feeling that they don’t know what all the fuss is about.
They do now, or at least they will if Guardiola has rediscovered his urgency, his anger, his obsessiveness as he sniffs the chance of catching Arsenal in one last hurrah.
Premier League winner odds (via Sky Bet)
- Arsenal - 2/11
- Man City - 4/1
- Man Utd - 40/1
- Bar - 150/1
Odds correct at 1755 GMT (9/2/26)
And it isn’t all that unlikely, even with the caveat of how ridiculous the swinging back and forth has become over the last few weeks from Arsenal as champions-elect to Man City closing in and back again.
At 5.53pm on Sunday evening Arsenal were about to go nine points clear, effectively ending the title race. By 10pm on Thursday, just four days later, they could conceivably be only three points ahead of Man City, momentum shattered and Guardiola’s side looking reborn.
It would be the fastest capitulation in Premier League history. All that needs to happen for it to occur is an excellent Brentford team beating an Arsenal side made understandably anxious by City winning at home to Fulham the previous evening.
That is how Guardiola will see things now; that is how the manager will invigorate himself, and then his players, in the hours leading up to Wednesday night.
Pep is awake again. He has felt the magic of Premier League football flow through his body. It could, should, be the moment the title race truly came to life.
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