‘Arsenal and Liverpool couldn’t win here!’ – Pep Guardiola hails Everton victory
Cheeky from the Man City boss!
Pep Guardiola was left delighted after Manchester City’s 2-0 victory at Everton, highlighting that Arsenal and Liverpool didn’t win at Goodison Park this term.
City looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw before Nico O’Reilly opened the scoring on 84 minutes, with Mateo Kovacic then netting in added time.
Guardiola believes the result is a massive boost to his side’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League – although they remain behind both Arsenal and Liverpool – who’ve been Premier League title challengers to City in recent seasons.
City narrowly beat Arsenal to the top-flight trophy in 2023 and 2024 with Liverpool the only side to stop Guardiola’s team from winning the last seven Premier League titles in a row, which came in the 2019-20 campaign.
Speaking after the win over David Moyes’ side, Guardiola referenced Everton’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal earlier this month.
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The City boss also recalled the 2-2 draw between Everton and Liverpool in February, in a game in which the Toffees scored a 98th-minute equaliser.
Quizzed in his post-match press conference how big the win for City was, Guardiola said: ‘I would say big. We needed to be so smart.
‘Liverpool could not win [here], Arsenal neither. It’s a massively important [win].’
Everton will leave Goodison Park in the summer and move into their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
‘It has been truly, truly an honour to come here to Goodison Park for many years,’ Guardiola added.
‘Today I was on the pitch [before the game] watching on the screen, watching all the goals [at Goodison Park over the years] and I said, ‘Wow! This is English football!’
‘My friend Ronald Koeman destroyed me the first time I came here in a 4-0, with [Romelu] Lukaku, I remember perfectly.
‘The beginning of an incredible adventure that we are living and have lived for almost more than one decade.’
Meanwhile, City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live after the win over Everton and said: ‘We had to work hard.
‘This ground is always tough to come and play at with the way they approach the game.
‘We had to be careful, maybe at the beginning we didn’t want to risk it too much.
‘We came out in the second half to perform and we have done that in a brilliant way. Definitely deserved to get the three points.’
City return to Premier League action on Tuesday when they host Aston Villa at the Etihad.
