YOU would think Pep Guardiola has enough on his plate.
The pressure of the title race can scramble the sharpest of managerial minds but there is no escape from the Full English.
The Manchester City boss tucked in yesterday, with the Catalan super-coach gorging on this sensational sequence of results in Europe.
English football is on the up, with Liverpool and Tottenham in the Champions League final and Chelsea facing Arsenal in the Europa League out in Baku.
Guardiola, preparing for tomorrow’s title decider against Brighton, said: “The semi-finals of the Champions League were incredible, and then we had our important win against Leicester.
“This week says English football is incredibly good. The national team reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, they are Under-20 champions, Under-17 champions, four teams to be in the final of the Champions League and Europa League, big congratulations all of them, it’s good for our football.”
So good that it would be easy to overlook tomorrow’s challenge on the south coast.
One game to go. City on 95 points, away to Brighton. Liverpool on 94, home to Wolves.
These are two powerful teams, scrapping it out with each other on the final day of the Premier League season.
Whatever happens at Anfield or the Amex after 3pm tomorrow, the title race has been a compelling battle between these giant clubs.
We know in the world in which we live, I know we will be judged. We have to win.
Pep Guardiola
Guardiola said: “First of all it’s a dream to be in this situation.
“I didn’t expect when we were seven points behind Liverpool to be in the position we are now — so that’s why it’s a dream come true.
“I’m not going to change my opinion on what we have done here. But of course, to get more credit, you have to win.
“We saw in the Champions League, once you are out, everybody destroyed the teams, destroyed managers, destroyed the clubs, even though they are doing well.
“We know in the world in which we live, I know we will be judged. We have to win.
“We’ve shown many things, but now is not the moment to say how well we’ve done — we have the chance to be champions if we win our game and that’s what we have to do.”
It comes at Brighton, where City are expected to come through unscathed to successfully defend their title.
At Southampton last season, with the title already won, Guardiola was ranting and raving and hollering his way towards 100 points.
They will fall just shy of that total this season.
But the challenge is to become the first team since neighbours Manchester United (2008 and 2009) to win back-to-back titles.
The decade-long wait for a successful defence shows just how tough it is to finish top of the pile in English football.
Guardiola added: “If we make it back-to-back titles it would be nice, but nothing will change too much.
“We have done incredibly well all season in all competitions.
“We have two games — two finals effectively — for two titles. We will be strong mentally because we know it’s going to be tough.”
They have been through final-day drama before.
City fans still stuff their little faces on the thought of Sergio Aguero scoring the 90th-minute winner against QPR in 2012.
That was under Roberto Mancini and they have gone on to win the Premier League again under Manuel Pellegrini and the great Guardiola.
They are in fine fettle, with the title in their own hands after winning 13 Premier League games straight.
One more and they are champions, regardless of what happens between Liverpool and Wolves.
City’s manager, who has won seven league titles in his career, added: “When we won the title with five or so games to go last year it was easier.
“This is nice, a privilege to be in this position. A month ago, I wouldn’t say it wasn’t expected, but we are in this position because we won a lot of games — 13 in a row — in the last part of the season. Now we have to win one more.”
Everywhere you look there is a matchwinner, with Aguero, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva all coming good again.
Bernardo is the man at the moment, the lightning rod for this electrifying City side.
Guardiola, who is likely to be without playmaker Kevin De Bruyne tomorrow through injury, added: “Bernardo was the best all season, not just in our team, he was the best. But I don’t get to vote.
“Name me one team and he will play well there.
“He is so clever, so smart, a nice guy — he does everything well.”
City’s Portuguese forward has kept them ticking over, driving them towards more glory in the Premier League.
Beat Brighton and they will have had the rest of English football for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
