City title hopes hang by thread but Koeman hails the ‘perfect’ display
PEP GUARDIOLA all but surrendered Manchester City’s hopes of winning the Premier League title after his worst afternoon as a manager. Guardiola admitted Chelsea’s ten-point advantage looks insurmountable after a crushing defeat at Goodison Park — the Catalan’s worst domestic result. Asked if their title challenge was over, Guardiola said: ‘The first one (position), yeah. The first one is a ten-point gap and that is a lot of course. ‘The second one is three points, so we have to see. ‘The consistency in clean sheets depends on how we create in front. ‘It would be a huge mistake to blame everything on one
person, but of course this is the first time I’ve conceded a lot of goals. ‘It’s never happened before. That’s why I have to know the reason why. I spoke with the players for the last three weeks to forget about the table. Focus on the next game and do our best.’ Guardiola was at a loss to explain why his side’s form is on the slide and suggested sweeping changes could be made next summer. ‘Believe me, I would like to know why,’ he said. ‘I had eight years as a coach and won seven titles. That is an exceptional situation. ‘But that is not a good argument for our people and I have to look for the best solution for our players to win again. ‘At the end of the season we’ll analyse how our level was, our performance, the coach, the players. After, we are going to decide.’ City have now lost four of their last eight Premier League games to fall way behind Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. Meanwhile, Everton manager Ronald Koeman described the 4-0 demolition as a ‘perfect afternoon’. The triumph was undoubtedly the Dutchman’s finest hour since taking over at Goodison Park in the summer. ‘Each Evertonian likes the way we played today and we are on a good run,’ said Koeman. ‘Two wins, two clean sheets in the Premier League. That’s what we like to expect. ‘How we played in the second half was really outstanding, really perfect. ‘It might have been impossible to play at a higher level in every aspect of football.’ Everton, energised by the teenage midfielder Tom Davies, swarmed all over the visitors after the break. ‘We’d like to continue with that attitude,’ added Koeman. ‘I think we started to play with that attitude against Arsenal at home. ‘The team is changing, the personnel is changing in a good way and we showed that. ‘I like to bring in young players. If like Davies, like Mason Holgate, they bring the performance and the level, then I will be the first to put them in.’