Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that winning the Premier League title is an even tougher quest than lifting the Champions League trophy.
City will retain the domestic title if they defeat Aston Villa on Sunday – a result that would make second-placed Liverpool's game against Wolves irrelevant.
The European Cup remains elusive for Guardiola, who has been in charge at the Etihad since 2016, and City with their latest attempt ending at the last-four stage when the lost to Real Madrid, who take on Liverpool in next weekend's final in Paris.
But the Spaniard believes that reigning supreme in the English top-flight remains the ultimate challenge.
“I would say it's more difficult. There's a lot of weeks and games, struggles with injuries, good and bad moments with different situations, tough opponents,” Guardiola said.
“It's satisfying because it's every day. When you fight for the Premier League and have success right at the end, it gives you a sense that you enjoy a lot. We are happier in our lives when you win.
“When you win and win it [makes for' good training sessions, a good environment and mood. It's not like the FA Cup or a single game, it's a routine.
“I'm not saying the Champions League is not important. We're mad, crazy to win it. We want it, we love it.
“We'd love to be in Paris [for the final] next week but to win 38 games, rather than six, eight or nine games, is different.
West Ham 2 Manchester City 2: player ratings
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WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski – 7 Kept his side in it at 2-2 with a terrific penalty save to deny Mahrez in the closing stages. He didn’t have much of a chance with City’s goals, especially Coufal’s own goal. Booked. Action Images -
Vladimir Coufal – 4 An own-goal to forget for the right-back, when his attempt to clear Mahrez’s free-kick ended up ended up in the back of the net. Booked. AFP -
Craig Dawson – 6 Shaking off injury concerns to start, Dawson was solid in defence, though he gave away the penalty. Action Images -
Kurt Zouma – 6 He was lucky to get away with what looked to be a foul on Jesus in the penalty box in the first half. He was later needed to clear up after Fabianski’s save from Silva’s effort. AP -
Aaron Creswell – 6 Busy in defence and crucial in keeping City out, with a notable seven clearances to his name. Couldn’t quite get forward as much as he would have liked. AFP -
Tomas Soucek – 6 Dominant in the air througho except when second best to Rodri in the build-up to City’s first goal. He had earlier had a hand in West Ham’s second, winning first ball from a Fabianski goal-kick to flick the ball on to Antonio for Bowen’s second. EPA -
Declan Rice – 7 Dominant in the middle, the England international broke up play and continued to dictate proceedings with his interceptions and tackles. AFP -
Pablo Fornals – 7 Played an incredible ball over the top to find Bowen in plenty of space in the build-up to West Ham’s opener. AP -
Manuel Lanzini – 6 Managing to get a couple of challenges in, Lanzini was notably quieter than his teammates in sparking West Ham’s attacks. EPA -
Jarrod Bowen – 9 Beat the offside trap and sprung on to an overhead ball from Fornals for his first. Antonio played him in before he weaved his way into space to fire through Fernandinho’s legs for his second. Booked. Getty -
Michail Antonio – 7 Crowded out during his first run at City’s makeshift defence with Cancelo able to cover. His best effort was a chipped shot over Ederson, but it finished just wide. Added an assist to his tally when he played Bowen through. Getty -
SUBS: Mark Noble (Lanzini 77’) – N/R A farewell home outing for Noble, a veteran who has served 18 years with for the club. AFP -
Ben Johnson (Fornals 90+1’) – N/R A late defensive change to hold out a draw. Getty -
Andriy Yarmolenko (Antonio 90+5’) – N/R A final home appearance for the Ukrainian, who is set to depart the London Stadium at the end of the season. Reuters -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson – 5 Not the most comfortable display from the Brazilian goalkeeper, with Bowen beating him twice. AFP -
Joao Cancelo – 6 Again playing at right-back, the 27-year-old was forced to intervene when Zinchenko was overloaded on the opposing wing by Antonio. Good offensively. EPA -
Fernandinho – 5 The City captain was forced to play in the middle of a makeshift defence. He tried his luck from distance when he fired narrowly over the crossbar early on, and could then only watch as Bowen’s second went through his legs. AFP -
Aymeric Laporte – 5 The Spaniard was unable to match Bowen’s pace and played him onside for West Ham’s opener, and almost gifted West Ham a third with miscommunication at the back. AP -
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 4 The Ukrainian forced Fabianski into an early save when he found space with an overlapping run before shooting at the goalkeeper’s near post, but was later caught napping when Fornals found Bowen. Played Bowen onside for his second. AFP -
Bernardo Silva – 6 Making his 250th appearance for Man City, Silva was denied a City equaliser when Fabianski made a terrific low save. AFP -
Rodri – 6 The defensive midfielder saw an effort deflected wide of the goal in the first half, but he went one better and won the header against Soucek in the box to head into Grealish’s path. Getty Images -
Kevin De Bruyne – 5 The Belgium international curved his free-kick over West Ham’s wall as City desperately looked for an equaliser. AP -
Riyad Mahrez – 6 Livelier in the second half and sent in a wicked delivery that led to Coufal scoring an own-goal. He was left frustrated when his penalty was saved by Fabianski AFP -
Gabriel Jesus – 7 Denied a penalty in the first half when kicked by Zouma in the box, the Brazilian’s appeals were again waved away in the closing stages, only to be overturned by VAR. AFP -
Jack Grealish – 7 After an uninspiring first half from the £100m midfielder, Grealish wasted no time getting City back in the game after the break, with Rodri heading the ball into his path. Lively second-half display. Getty
“Always I like it, since I was a player. The league is nice and we are on the verge of that. We are close.”
Meanwhile, City captain Fernandinho paid tribute to manager Guardiola before the Brazilian midfielder's final game for the club.
The 37-year-old has been a crucial player for City since joining from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013, winning four Premier League titles, an FA Cup and six League Cup trophies during his time at the Etihad Stadium.
He can add another league triumph to his collection if City beat Villa at home. “Since he came, the way City started to play under him was completely different,” Fernandinho, who will become a free agent in the summer, told the club website.
“That is why he is considered one of the best managers in the world. Definitely [he has taken my game to the next level]. When he came, I was 30 already so I had good managers in the past.
“But when I started to work with him, I just started to see football in a different way. I understood football much better, and he makes you see the game in another vision.”
