When Manchester City’s manager claimed he would have been sacked by Barcelona or Bayern by now, it was hard to know whether he was bragging, complaining or merely being disingenuous
“It’s not done, but we are nearly there,” Pep Guardiola said after Manchester City’s last home win of the season. “It’s in our hands to finish third. We are going to play Watford and win the game. [Even if we lose] Arsenal will have to score five or six against Everton to get past us.”
Most of the season’s issues have been settled as the final weekend approaches, there will be no last day relegation escapes and the top and runners-up spots have been known for a while. There is mild interest at Stamford Bridge over whether Chelsea can manage a 30th victory of the season to break the Premier League record of 29 set in each of José Mourinho’s first two seasons at the club, and the race for third and fourth place has resolved itself into a question of whether City and Liverpool can hold their nerve and pick up the necessary points against lower half of the table opponents in Watford and Middlesbrough respectively.
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