Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero admits it will be “too hard” for his side to catch up with Premier League leaders Liverpool.
After the reigning champions slipped up on Friday with a 3-2 loss to Wolves, Liverpool stretched their winning streak in the English top-flight to 10 matches on Sunday when they beat the same team 1-0 at Anfield thanks to a first-half goal from Sadio Mane.
City got back to winning ways on Sunday evening with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United through goals from Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, but they remain 14 points behind last season's runners-up, who have a game in hand due to their involvement in the Club World Cup earlier this month.
Currently sitting in third place and one point behind second-placed Leicester, Argentine striker Aguero feels his side are out of the running for a third consecutive Premier League title, saying Champions League qualification should be their top priority now.
“Now, Liverpool is too hard. We have to focus just on winning because we need to play Champions League next season," Aguero, who has scored 10 goals in 15 Premier League matches this term, is quoted as saying by Reuters .
"We have to play the same way and see what happens."
The 31-year-old is not the first City figure to dismiss the team's chances of leapfrogging the Anfield side, as coach Pep Guardiola said earlier this month: "Like everyone say we are out, we have no chance. We are thinking about ourselves and the next game. To think how many ways to win to be close is a stupid way to think."
Guardiola repeated that view again after Sunday's victory - his 100th in the Premier League .
“It’s unrealistic to think about [catching Liverpool]," he told reporters. "When a team has the numbers that Liverpool has, why should we think about it, when we are 14 or 17 behind?”
City's next game is on New Year's Day, when they host Everton before turning their attention to FA Cup duty with a home clash against League Two side Port Vale.