Guardiola can't stop talking about Liverpool as Manchester City's challenge becomes increasingly apparent

Guardiola has scored 198 points in two seasons in the Premier League, and he is not used to catching up.

But this time, the Manchester City boss will have to do it the hard way if he wants to win a third successive Premier League title.

Liverpool's tough and tense 1-0 victory over Sheffield United at lunchtime on Saturday was a wake-up call for their rivals.

They opened up an eight-point lead before Manchester City visited Everton later in the day.

Gini Wijnaldum's strike - and Dean Henderson's subsequent moment of horror - was enough to make it seven consecutive wins for the Reds this season.

As the pressure mounted on Guardiola and his team, they finally accepted the challenge as they left Goodison Park with a hard-earned victory.

The 3-1 win was the result Guardiola knew he and his players needed as they look to remain at the helm of what has been an unblemished season at the top of the league so far.

Guardiola said: "We know that Liverpool won again, the gap is 8 points, the gap is too big, so we won by 3 points, now it is 5 points in September, we still have a lot of points We can play. "

"We know which team we are competing for the championship now. They have won seven games in a row and are European champions. They are playing well. Knowing we can't drop too many points because they only lost one game last season "

"This season is long and we have to keep going and maybe we can push them a little tighter and fight for it. A third consecutive Premier League title ”

Of course, Liverpool also finished ahead of Manchester City in the title race last season. However, this was an all-out crushing of Manchester City by them at different times during the season.

After seven games last year, both teams were 19 points clear at the top, with City's goal difference giving them a slight advantage.

Liverpool will temporarily drop to third place, with Chelsea among them, regaining top spot after 16 games. This time, the Reds took the lead early and held the lead from the second game on.

West Ham United, who are nine points ahead of third place, have already determined that this will once again be a game where only one of the two teams can win the title. Barring an incredible, sensational, unbelievable collapse from either Liverpool or Manchester City, next year's winner will be either Guardiola or Klopp.

Guardiola faces a real battle this season and he knows it. At his post-match press conference at Goodison Park, he decided to focus on Klopp's Liverpool.

Guardiola has spoken about the Reds at Goodison Park before, speaking ahead of the match against Everton in April 2018 in the Manchester City documentary All or Nothing or Nothing) expressed concerns about Liverpool's front three.

This time, the famous Catalan was asked about his team's heart, desire and appetite for this battle, and he chose to talk about the Reds' problems and will in May These questions were put in front of him before the biggest award in English football history was awarded on the 17th.

"I don't think we need to go to Goodison Park to show (our heart)," he said. "Everything we have done in the past two seasons is inseparable from the quality of the players (of course, the most important thing is the quality of the players), because of the way we want to play, because of the quality of the players."

"But the season is long and we will keep pushing, keep going, keep going. Maybe we can put more pressure on them."

Guardiola's decision - whether intentional Still subconscious - focusing his answer on Liverpool's strengths is telling. The football fan knows that Klopp's Champions League title is a serious obstacle to his third successive title.

Obviously, Guardiola has devoted a lot of his own thinking time to them.