'Accept the reality' - Pep Guardiola hits back over two Man City defeats

Pep Guardiola expects Manchester City to be fighting for titles at the end of the season despite their recent struggles.

The Blues have been struggling for weeks with a hefty injury list and things came to a head in the last days with two defeats in four days. Tottenham knocked them out of the Carabao Cup in midweek before Bournemouth inflicted their first Premier League defeat of the season on at the weekend.

Kyle Walker admitted after that game that he had returned earlier from injury than he could have done in order to be there as captain, and Manu Akanji and Nathan Ake are still struggling for fitness despite travelling to Portugal this week. However, Guardiola believes that while his team have accepted they will struggle they are also in a very good position ahead of their Champions League game with Sporting.

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"I know our standards. We lost one game in the Premier League," he said. "Maybe we will lose against Brighton and Tottenham but we lost one game and we are two points behind a top class team in Liverpool.

"We have done decently in the Champions League, I would say. I understand. I know people expect us to win 38 games 5-0 and win The Treble every season because this is our standards but this will not happen.

"It's more difficult because we have a lot of absences because sometimes there are seasons where it happens. To win The Treble everything has to be on the same page: no injuries, good momentum, opponents drop points at important moments.

"This is not possible because Oscar [Bobb] was the best