Pep Guardiola: 'Media Desire Liverpool Will Be Champions' over Manchester City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he thinks title rivals Liverpool have the backing of the media in the pursuit of Premier League glory.

City moved back to the top of the table on Monday after they beat Leicester City 1-0 thanks to Vincent Kompany's stunning goal. The Sky Blues face Brighton & Hove Albion in the final game of the campaign on Sunday, knowing a victory will clinch the title for a second successive year.

Liverpool trail City by just one point and have been relentless in their chase of the title. Guardiola said after Monday's win that he thinks the Reds have the support of many covering the run-in, per TalkSport.

"My feeling here is the media desire Liverpool to be champions," he said. "But 195 points in two seasons, it is something unique. We were seven points behind Liverpool, we could have been 10 points had Liverpool beaten us here [in January], but we never give up and have won 13 games in a row."

TalkSport reporter Dominic McGuinness (h/t Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News) then asked if Guardiola did really feel there was a desire from the press to see Liverpool win the title, to which he said:  "Yeah, definitely."

While Guardiola may be unhappy with some of the coverage of his team's efforts, he will be pleased with the manner in which they are earning crucial results at this stage of the campaign. The recent form of City saw him earn Manager of the Month on Tuesday:

In the final weeks of the season, City have hit their stride. Despite a number of late goals from the Reds to keep them in contention, the defending champions have been able to react with straightforward wins.

Rory Smith of the New York Times said he's unsure why Guardiola is making such comments at this point:

Brennan shared footage of a reaction to Kompany's goal that he suggested supports the City manager's comments:

Both City and Liverpool deserve immense credit for the manner in which they've performed this season.

For City to have accumulated 195 points in their last 75 Premier League games is an astounding achievement based on unprecedented consistency. For Liverpool to have kept in touch with such a special side for so long is testament to the work done by manager Jurgen Klopp and his players.

Even so, there'll be extra adulation for whoever comes out of Sunday's final day with their hands on the Premier League trophy.