Pep Guardiola takes swipe at Everton after Man City drop points to extend Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have won four of the last five top-flight titles (Picture: Getty)

Pep Guardiola has taken a swipe at Everton after they denied Manchester City victory to extend Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League table.

The champions, who have won four of the last five top-flight titles, were held to a 1-1 draw by the Toffees at the Etihad in a shock New Year’s Eve result.

Everton, managed by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, have struggled in the Premier League this season and find themselves in a relegation fight.

But they produced a superb performance in Manchester to deny City a crucial win – and following Arsenal’s 4-2 victory at Brighton – it extended the Gunners’ lead over Guardiola’s second-placed side to seven points heading into 2023.

Guardiola defended his team after the game but was not happy with Everton’s tactics and accused them of playing with eight defenders.

‘Dropping points at home is always tough,’ Guardiola told the BBC. ‘But I’m always trying to make our game good and we have continued to do it.

‘I would say they had eight in the back. In that situation it’s movement and attacking at the right moment.

‘In general we did it. We didn’t allow them transitions. They made a fantastic goal and when that happens you say congratulations but in general we did really well.’

The title race is far from over, though, and City will be hoping Arsenal drop points in January with the Gunners set for massive fixtures against top-four rivals Newcastle, Tottenham and Manchester United.

Arsenal and City are also still due to face each other twice in the top-flight too and John Barnes believes Mikel Arteta’s side will bottle it.

‘Yeah I would still say [Manchester City] are favourites [for the title], because of their experience,’ Barnes told BonusCodeBets.

‘Arsenal are still a young side and doing very well, a bit like Newcastle. I may be wrong but with their youth I don’t expect them to still not lose matches.

‘Whereas you can’t see Man City losing many matches.’

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‘I would say they had eight in the back…’