Squad gains: Manchester City's strength in depth has allowed Pep Guardiola's men to still be in the running for four major trophies this season
Squad gains: Manchester City's strength in depth has allowed Pep Guardiola's men to still be in the running for four major trophies this season POOL / Clive Brunskill

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola gave a "grass" excuse after his side was held at a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday.

By dropping points in their latest league outing, reigning champions City have suffered a major dent in their title race. Man City have 70 points from 29 matches. Their title rivals Liverpool have a game in hand. If Jurgen Klopp's Reds manage to win that game, they'll just be a point behind City, leaving the title race wide open.

While Man City have managed only three victories in their last five matches in the Premier League, Liverpool are having an excellent run. The Anfield side is on a streak of eight consecutive wins in the league, while they have been unbeaten in as many as 17 matches.

Moreover, Liverpool and Man City are yet to face off against each other at Etihad in the season. In their Anfield leg, the result was a 2-2 draw with Kevin de Bruyne scoring a late goal for City.

Following the draw against Crystal Palace, Guardiola backed his side, saying his boys played well and he had no regrets about his team selection.

"There are still many games to play, we have to win a lot of games but the way we played, there are no regrets about the team. We would have preferred to win of course but the game was well played. We played to win the game, we created more, the way we played was amazing in a difficult stadium with the grass not perfect," Guardiola said in an interview, Goal reported.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are eight points clear of second-placed Chelsea

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are the defending champions in the 2021-22 Premier League Photo: AFP / Oli SCARFF

Bernardo Silva: 'We are in a better position than Liverpool'

Man City midfielder Bernardo Silva believes his side is still in a better position than rivals Liverpool.

We couldn't score and we should've scored. Nine games to go, but it's still better to be in our position than in Liverpool's and they have to play in our stadium so it's going to be exciting," Silva said in a post-match interview, BBC Sport reported.

Klopp and Co. are gearing up for a vital outing to London as they take on Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.