Arsenal would have won the league — Man City captain explains importance of Liverpool win

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva said that defeat to Liverpool would have spelt the end of their title challenge against Arsenal, suggesting that that fuelled their drive towards the comeback victory.

The Cityzens secured a league double against Liverpool for the first time under Pep Guardiola after beating the Reds 2-1 at Anfield this weekend. Despite a dominant first-half from the Mancunians, a Dominic Szoboszlai screamer handed Liverpool the lead. 

However, Bernardo Silva sparked a comeback, scoring the equaliser thanks to an Erling Haaland flick-on, before the Norwegian scored the winner from the spot minutes later.

Had Manchester City lost, they would have remained nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League standings, a margin deemed insurmountable by Bernardo. Hence, their elation for having picked up maximum points on a tough ground.

"For the distance that we have to Arsenal, coming here, it is the toughest place in the Premier League by far, but we needed to go for another goal. When I scored, I was happy, but we needed another, and Erling got it,” he said, per the BBC.

"Very happy, but these points count as much as any in any other game. It has been frustrating the beginning of the year because we have not done our job properly. We could be closer to Arsenal. For me, you must imagine how tough it is to win here but I am really happy.

"I feel the whole team knew before the game if we lost it then the title race was probably over. We felt like we needed to win. The hope is there and we are going to fight until the end. We need to keep doing our job that we haven't lately."