Liverpool received a warning from Pep Guardiola after Manchester City beat Everton 3-1 on Wednesday.Manager Sean Dyche’s side maintained their lead in the first half thanks to Jack Harrison’s goal, but eventually lost, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva securing all three points by beating Jordan Pickford .
Liverpool are currently five points behind last season’s treble winners. However, City can hit a rich run of form in the second half of the season when it comes to defending their title, as they have consistently shown in previous seasons. After the win at Goodison Park, Guardiola warned the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham that City were closing in on them in the table after a relatively slow start to the season.
“I remind [his players] every day that we have to meet the standards. “We have a huge responsibility to make sure these standards don’t drop,” Guardiola said (via the ECHO). “I thought the first half was very good. In the second half we had to attack quicker using wings and runners and we did that very well.
“Once again they showed how special they are. I know people will be surprised if we only win once in six games because it depends on results, but we are as close as Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa. We want to be there.”I said we have to create a structure where we can play directly against the wings. I created opportunities in 5-10 minutes. Phil Foden finally got the ball and put it in the net! “In the second half, we were often in the final third,” he said.
