Thursday 7 February 2019 11:27, UK
Manchester City's return to the Premier League summit is a lesson in never giving up, says Pep Guardiola after his team's win at Everton.
City were 10 points off leaders Liverpool on December 29 but wrested back top spot with a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park on Wednesday night, although Liverpool have a game in hand over their title rivals.
Guardiola told Sky Sports: "It's good, sleeping being top of the table, it's much better, but Liverpool have one game extra at Old Trafford.
"I don't think too much about it really. We have an incredible test next Sunday [against Chelsea], the cup and Champions League start again, so I don't think much about being first or second.
"A month ago, we could have gone 10 points behind. Four or five days ago, we could have been seven and now we're top.
"It's a lesson not to give up. Many things are going to happen."
City's opponents Everton set out to frustrate the champions and came close to doing so in the first half at least, until Aymeric Laporte headed in the opener in the final seconds of added time.
"We had good minutes in the first half," Guardiola said. "We had more problems making our build-up after half-time and in terms of our consistency.
"But we didn't concede a shot on target. Scoring in the last minute of the first half helped us a lot, and in the second half they pushed more and it was more difficult to play our natural game.
"Now comes a big test, a big goal. Chelsea are an exceptional team who have had seven days to prepare.
"We have to prepare well. It really is a final for us this weekend. If we are able to take these points, it is a huge step forward."
