'There is a long, long, long way to go', Guardiola warns Man City's title rivals
Manchester City could end the weekend seven points off the Premier League title pace, but Pep Guardiola is not panicking at this stage.
Pep Guardiola reminded Manchester City's title rivals that there remains a long way to go in the season after they slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.
City emerged from the international break four points behind Arsenal at the summit, with a chance to cut the Gunners' lead to a single point before they face Tottenham on Sunday.
But Harvey Barnes scored either side of Ruben Dias volley as three goals in seven second-half minutes decided the contest, after both teams missed several good chances in the first half.
City could now slip seven points off the title pace after 12 matchdays, while their four defeats are their most at this stage of a Premier League season since 2013-14 (also four).
It is also the most defeats a team managed by Guardiola has ever suffered in the first 12 games of a league campaign, but he is not panicking just yet.
"We gave everything," Guardiola told reporters. "We wanted to make a step like we have done in the last two months, but this is not an easy place to come after the international break.
"It was a tight game, with chances for both sides. Gigio was extraordinary. We missed chances and then in the second half, we conceded a goal.
"There were more chances for both sides, but we could not get the result. There is a long, long, long way to go."
The first half of Saturday's game featured seven big chances, as defined by Opta, with four falling to Newcastle and three to City, while the teams combined for a total of 2.59 expected goals (xG) before the break (1.18 for Newcastle, 1.41 for City).
That is the most big chances on record (since 2010-11) and the highest non-penalty xG total (since 2012-13) in a goalless Premier League first half.
Erling Haaland passed up two of City's biggest chances, miscuing an attempt to lob Nick Pope then shooting straight at the goalkeeper from Nico O'Reilly's cutback, and Matheus Nunes believes the result was dictated by fine margins.
"I think it could have been different. We had a lot of chances that we could have converted and we would be talking about a different game," Nunes said.
"But this is football. We didn't take our chances, they took theirs. It is what it is.
"Today wasn't our day. If it was another day, we would put all the balls in the net and like I said, the result would be different. I don't think there's any magical explanation."
