Despite Man City current setback, they are in the Runner-up position with a 5-point gap over Liverpool. If the performance continues to deteriorate in the next 2 matches, Chelsea will be even more ambitious to seize their position. Man City lost many foundation players so it's not just Rodri and honestly even if Rodri is there, it's still not a guarantee that the performance will be stable. Or what if Man City performance doesn't decline but other teams have developed better?
It is not so much about the current setback, it is the performance over the last four games. Now the 5-point gap shouldn't be underestimated because Liverpool is serious about it this season - they are not joking around. There is soon the match when Liverpool is playing against Manchester City at Anfield Road. Guardiola knows that this could be the first knockdown of the season if they lose that game.
I thought that Liverpool would be the team being in more trouble now, but it's quite the other way around. They have got the best defense in the Premier League by far and it is no coincidence as the game against Bayer Leverkusen has shown. They are a high quality team that is in for the title race for sure.