Pep Guardiola praised the mentality of his Manchester City team after they beat Everton 3-1 and believes there will be more “surprises” in store for the title race.
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It was City’s first Premier League match since being crowned FIFA Club World Cup winners in Saudi Arabia and Guardiola took great pride in the way his team fought back after going behind to an Everton team who had gone 17 matches undefeated after opening the scoring.
“It was a massive game for us, coming back from Saudi Arabia as world champions,” Guardiola said.
“It proved again how special this group of players is and the mentality that we have in our bones.”
Guardiola was particularly impressed at how his team switched focus from the Club World Cup to the challenge of retaining their Premier League title, securing only their second win in six Premier League matches.
“I remember on the plane coming back from Saudi Arabia and we were world champions and I listened to the players talking,” he said. “They didn’t know I was listening and they started to talk about Everton. I said, ‘Wow, this is my team.’
“I have the feeling they still want to try. We play many games this season and people say we are not the same.
“We have lost one of the last 12 or 13. Aston Villa were miles better but in the rest we were better. We don’t talk enough about how good we are.”
The win returned City to the top four, five points behind leaders Liverpool with a match in hand, and Guardiola predicts more twists and turns in the remaining five months of the season.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +13 | 66 |
“We want to be there,” he said. “I know we are not top of the league, but a lot of things are going to happen. There will be a lot of surprises and the thing is to be there.”