Manchester, Apr. 5: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has told his side to prepare for another Premier League title race that goes all the way to the last day of the season.

Reigning champions City have been playing catch-up this term in a three-way clash with Arsenal and Liverpool.

City maintained their charge by drawing level on points with second-placed Liverpool, and moving just one behind leaders Arsenal, with a commanding 4-1 win at home to Aston Villa on Wednesday featuring a hat-trick from England midfielder Phil Foden. Arsenal moved back to the summit by beating Luton 2-0. 

Just one point separates the top three teams in what is shaping up to be the most compelling title fight in recent history.

Liverpool, however, can regain top spot when they play their game in hand against bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United. Guardiola continues to insist his side are only third favourites to lift the Premier League trophy as they seek to be crowned champions of England for an unprecedented fourth successive season.

But he expects City to remain in the hunt, with the Spaniard saying: “If we win all our games it will go until the last day because they are not five, six, seven points in front.

“It will not be easy. The feeling I have is not easy. I see Liverpool and Arsenal playing, they don’t drop points, it will not be easy.

“But we have to do our job and don’t regret, ‘Oh, we should have won that game because they lost after’. We cannot do anything, we do not play against them any more so we don’t control what Liverpool and Arsenal do. All we can do is win our games.”

“As I said, it’s tight, it’s not seven or eight points. It’s close. We have to wait. They have to lose points, otherwise it will not be possible, but again the team has been exceptional 

this season, exceptional.”

Foden thrills

No Erling Haaland, no problem. Foden justified Guardiola’s decision to leave his leading scorer on the bench by netting a stunning hat trick as City powered to a 4-1 win against Villa.

Guardiola had described Haaland the as the best striker in the world after he had been criticized by former Manchester United captain and now TV analyst Roy Keane. So it was a surprise to see the league’s top scorer left out of City’s starting lineup in a game of such importance.

But in his absence, Foden provided the goals with three supremely taken strikes. “His work ethic is amazing,” Guardiola said. “He plays in central positions and has an incredible sense of goal — he has goals in his veins and we have to use him.”

Pressure on Arsenal?

The question for Arsenal is whether it can go the distance after falling away so badly at the end of last season.

The Londoners led the table for 248 days before eventually being overtaken by a City team that won its third title in a row and completed a treble of trophies which also included the Champions League and FA Cup.

Mikel Arteta’s players have already improved head-to-head against City — winning and drawing against the defending champion. But it remains to be seen how they handle the pressure with just eight league games to go.

While Arsenal was expected to beat relegation-threatened Luton at home, there was always the potential for a slip.

That never looked likely after Martin Odegaard opened the scoring in the 24th minute and an own goal from Daiki Hashioka in the 44th made it 2-0 by halftime.

A fuss-free three points without Bukayo Saka and with Declan Rice named as a substitute was just the type of performance that suggests Arteta’s team is better prepared to complete the job this time around.

Arteta, though, is taking it one step at a time. “It is a busy month, we have started well again after an international break and next is Brighton,” he said.