Man City were in action against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.
This weekend could be a big one for the Manchester club as two of their rivals for the Champions League spots, Aston Villa and Newcastle, play each other, while Chelsea face a tough trip to West London neighbours Fulham.
City entered the weekend in fifth position, one point ahead of Enzo Maresca’s team and would have been confident of getting a result against Everton after Man City hammered Crystal Palace 5-2 last weekend at the Etihad Stadium.
Despite all this positivity, Chris Sutton has spotted a big worry within the Premier League champions as they entered the halftime break 0-0 with Everton.
- READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist both agree as they make surprising Everton vs Man City prediction
Pep Guardiola should be worried about Man City’s desire
There have been many things wrong at Man City this season, with Phil Foden blaming fatigue and injuries for the Manchester club’s struggles throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
The first half at Goodison Park showed a worrying sign within Pep Guardiola’s side as like last weekend’s game against Crystal Palace, the Manchester club started slow and created very little, leaving BBC pundit to question City’s desire.
“With what’s at stake Manchester City are not playing with any desire or urgency,” Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “Pep Guardiola will be demanding more from his side at half-time”.
Champions League football is a necessity for Man City next season, especially if they want to attract players such as Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz this summer.
Sutton was not the only pundit worried about City with Stephen Warnock also sharing similar concerns about the Premier League champions.
- READ MORE: Paul Scholes says Manchester City have a midfielder who’s actually even better than Rodri
Stephen Warnock thinks Pep Guardiola will be ‘disappointed’ with his Man City team
Man City created very little in the first half against Everton with a blocked Kevin De Bruyne shot being their biggest opportunity.
Guardiola was furious about a penalty claim on Savinho, however, the Spanish coach would have been more disappointed about his side’s performance in the opening 45 minutes at Goodison Park.
“Pep Guardiola will be disappointed with what he has seen so far,” Warnock said about Man City on BBC’s Football Focus. “They started reasonably well but Everton have grown into the game now and are looking dangerous on the break”.
Everton was always going to be a tough task for Man City, especially without the physical attributes of Erling Haaland, but their slow start against Everton is not the first time it has been seen from Guardiola’s men, which could be a worry for the remainder of the campaign.
