Would Man City really be ‘absolute losers’ if they are pipped by Liverpool in Premier League title race?

What if it doesn’t matter who wins the title?

There are plenty of people the world over who might make that argument, but it was still a surprise to hear it on Saturday evening from the manager and captain of Manchester City, two men more integral to this title race than almost anyone else on the planet. Pep Guardiola and Vincent Kompany would be two of the first men to touch the trophy if City win it in two months’ time. If they do not, and Jurgen Klopp and Jordan Henderson lift it instead, they will feel the loss.

And yet when Guardiola and Kompany spoke after City beat Bournemouth beat 1-0 on Saturday afternoon – but before Liverpool played Everton – their message was resoundingly similar. Of course they want to win the league. But with 71 points from 29 games they are still heading for a 93-point season, which would be a third highest Premier League points total ever recorded. If they get there, and Liverpool manage to get 94, is that a good season or a bad one? Would they, in Guardiola’s words, still be “absolute losers”?

“We want to win the league and will be disappointed if that doesn’t happen,” said Guardiola. “But we must not forget who are playing against. Without Liverpool, we would be champions. The players show me every day that they want to win it. We have played for all the competitions, and despite that we are still there. That is why I am so happy.”

The point Guardiola wanted to emphasise is that there is more to football than winning trophies. Being the best you can be, being memorably good, being true to your principles, all of these things are more important than whether you happen to finish first or second in the table. He almost sounded like Arsene Wenger in his social diagnosis and his insistence that there is more to competing than winning.

“Everybody knows what we have to do, everybody is there for each other, and then if we have that we can compete,” Guardiola insisted.

“We may lose, but if we do, no regrets. I know that in our society only the first one is a winner and the second is seen as an absolute loser. But it is impossible to feel that about my players. It’s impossible. I don’t know what will happen but it is impossible not to think they are good players, athletes, competitors, everything. Seeing what we have seen this season. We have 71 points and its incredible. Whatever happens.”

The performances against West Ham and Bournemouth this week were enough to encourage Guardiola that the team is on the right track. “In the way we play, we are much better,” he said, comparing this season’s City to last year’s.

When Vincent Kompany spoke to the media after the game, he made the same point as his manager. Winning the league is nice, but all City can control is being their best possible selves. And right now, that is what City say they are doing.

“We’re playing as well as we can, nothing is going to take away from that,” Kompany said.

Like Guardiola, he pointed to the points haul after 29 games as proof. “If Liverpool ends up being even better than us then that is credit to Liverpool. It cannot be something that we’ve done wrong in this case, not with the amount of points we’ve got at this point and the way we’ve played so far and with the way we’ve approached every game.”

“I think we’re doing as good as a team can do. If you want to talk about having back-to-back seasons, I’m sure that not a lot of teams had to face the sort of opposition we have now with Liverpool. Liverpool are having the best season I have ever known them to have, since I’ve been following the Premier League.”