Its been an iffy couple of months but to say we have imploded, bottled it etc as being peddled by the media is ridiculous.
Totally agree with this. The race is far from over.
Despite the poor last few weeks, there has been one constant in our title chase - Rock Solid Defense. Though the absence of TAA might have dented our attacking verve on the right, defensively we have been a rock with or without him. No matter what happens till the end of the season, one thing is certain - It is HARD to beat our defense. It gives me confidence for the title run.
Our biggest problem has been our front three not being clinical enough the last few weeks. All these iffy results (bar Man United) has been more due to us not taking our chances rather than our system failing or not creating enough. The media and the so-called pundits calling out on title pressure and scapegoating midfield are idiots in my opinion. It is right to blame our midfield for the United game, but the other games we have played well, created enough chances and still didn't manage to score. Yes a Fekir/Coutinho or a Fit returning AOC could have helped, but most of our best moves comes from the interplay between the front three and the space/chaos they create in the middle. As long as this continues I see no reason to worry because sooner than later the front 3 will get more consistent in front of the goal.
Finally City have not been good enough for us to throw the towel. They have been just as guilty, just as pressured and error prone - lacking consistency as we have been recently. They have scraped with a number of 1-0s of late and their overall game play has been tiring. I feel they are due to drop points even before the big United/Tottenham games. With their mounting injuries and fitness troubles, it sure doesn't look like a finished title race as many of our own feel in this forum - far from it.
2019 is a great year, enjoy the ride. Who knows what lies ahead of the road, we can still win the title this season for sure.