Bad news for Manchester City: two stars failed and another got injured vs Everton

After being Club World Cup champions for the first time in their history last Friday, Manchester City returned to England and had just five days to rest before their next match. They quickly had to focus again on the Premier League, where they have suffered some defeats in recent weeks that prevented them from getting closer to the top of the standings.

Liverpool beat Burnley on Tuesday to become the new league leaders with 42 points, although Arsenal can reach 43 points if they beat West Ham United on Thursday. The Citizens, with 34 points, are far behind them, so they need a win on Wednesday against Everton to stay in contention for the title.

However, things are not going easy for them. During the first half The Toffees showed more energy, concentration and intelligence, nullifying the virtues of Pep Guardiola's team and creating several chances to score. In the first of them, the hosts scored the opener.

On 29 minutes, Bernardo Silva tried to give a pass to Manuel Akanji, but he slipped and James Garner stole the ball. He gave a pass that was intercepted by Rodri, who also made a mistake, allowing Dwight McNeil to send a floated cross that Jack Harrison connected inside the box. With the lead, Everton improved their performance and had other opportunities to score, but goalkeeper Ederson saved them.

Nothing went right for them

In addition to being down 1-0, Manchester City had some bad news during the first half. In a play in which he disputed the ball with Beto, John Stones suffered a strong pain in his left foot that prevented him from continuing on the field. Therefore, Pep Guardiola had to replace him with Josko Gvardiol. And judging by the gestures of pain of the English defender, it could be something serious.