Ilkay Gundogan has predicted that Liverpool will ‘fight’ Manchester City for the title once again this year and believes it will push both sides to new heights.
The Reds recorded their highest ever Premier League points total last season but it was not enough to secure them a first league title since 1990 as they were pipped by City to top honours by a solitary point.
City have at times been peerless in the English top flight under Pep Guardiola, such and midfielder Gundogan has admitted that they have had to push themselves, but also that the challenge of Liverpool has been welcome motivation.
‘I think we should always put ourselves under pressure because we are so talented and such a good team that we want to win every game, so the pressure comes from inside,’ Gundogan said.
‘The fact that Liverpool does so well recently just shows that there is a team with a lot of quality that will also be a big contender for the season.
‘That’s good for the league, maybe also good for us but also good for Liverpool that we are there so it’s going to be a fight.
‘It’s not going to be easy so we have to be there, we have to win and that’s the game.’
City have already dropped points so far this season, drawing their first home game of the campaign 2-2 with Tottenham.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are top of the table, having started the season with a perfect record thanks to wins over Norwich, Southampton and Arsenal.
Their most recent victory over Unai Emery’s Gunners – a 3-1 win at Anfield – was particularly impressive and Joel Matip, who opened the scoring, believes the result was a sign of things to come.
He said: ‘We tried it over 90 minutes to come through. We had to be patient and the result was good, we won at home against Arsenal, that’s always good.
‘They were standing with two deep rows and with their speed in the front it was really difficult to come through, because they were standing by their own box. But in the end it worked.
‘We tried to push but it was not easy to come through. We did it not too bad but against a high-quality team like this it’s hard for every team.’
