BY MARTYN HERMAN
Taunted by the Kop with chants of “getting sacked in the morning”, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola kept his kop and held up six fingers to remind the Liverpool fans of how many Premier League titles he has won.
It was an unforgettable moment on a Sunday evening on Merseyside which could spell the end of Manchester City’s domination of the English top flight.
Liverpool cruised to a 2-0 victory with goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah against a struggling City to move 11 points clear of the champions from the past four seasons and nine ahead of second-placed Arsenal.
Guardiola, who has ripped up the record books since arriving at City, is now reaching unwanted milestones.
He has never lost four league games in a row during a glittering coaching career and whereas he has always found solutions to every problem, his magic touch has temporarily deserted him.
Afterwards, he told reporters: “I didn’t expect them to chant that, maybe I deserve to be sacked.
“I didn’t expect that, but it’s fine. When you win, you laugh. When you lose, they laugh, and you have to accept it.
“But I’m practical. I’m not depressed. When I think I cannot do it, we’ll talk with the club, but I feel that I want to do it. Life is not always perfect. Now we are not as strong as we were, that is a reality.”
With games coming thick and fast there is little time for City to feel sorry for themselves. They face high-flying Nottingham Forest tomorrow, travel to Crystal Palace next weekend and then have a crucial Champions League clash with Juventus.
Guardiola added: “I said before this game that we weren’t in a position to think about targets but the season is long.
“We have to think about making results and then some players will come back and then we’ll be better and we’ll believe maybe.
“There are many things to fight for and we’re going to try.”