'It's unbelievable' – Pep Guardiola makes Premier League claim ahead of Brighton trip

Pep Guardiola believes fewer points will be required to win the Premier League this season due to increased physical demands on players.

Manchester City became the first team in English top-flight history to reach 100 points in 2017/18 and three more times under Guardiola have broken the 90-point barrier.

City’s rivals have in turn upped their game with Liverpool hitting 99, 97 and 92 during three of the last six seasons, whilst six of the last eight champions have racked up upwards of 90 points.

Before 2017, only four teams had hit 90 in the 21 years since the league reduced to 20 clubs and 38 matches.

Following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth that ended City’s 32-game unbeaten league run, Guardiola was asked whether he expected that trend to reverse as the number of games drives up pressure on players.

“Of course, absolutely,” he said ahead of the trip to face Brighton at the Amex this Saturday. “If we’d had five more days to prepare and recover (for Bournemouth), maybe we would have been better. Or maybe not, who knows.

“I talked about the calendar for the season when we were winning, not just now because we lost a game. The reality is they won, we congratulate them.”

City were without key players for the defeat at the Vitality Stadium with John Stones, Ruben Dias and Kevin De Bruyne notable absences.

Defenders Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake were pressed into service despite not being fully fit and were noticeably off the pace as a fearless Bournemouth landed a first ever victory over City.

Guardiola was asked whether the hectic schedule took a toll on his own energy levels.

“I don’t play, I don’t run. I’m sitting,” he said. “We won a lot and people expect we’re going to win all the time. It’s the first game we’ve lost in the Premier League in 2024. We’re in November. It’s unbelievable.

“We’ll learn from this and we’ll improve. I’m fine. I still have energy. I wanted to win (on Saturday). Congratulations to Bournemouth is all I can say.”