Three things we learnt from Everton’s 4-0 defeat of Manchester City

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Everton delivered an excellent performance to record an emphatic 4-0 victory over Manchester City, but it will be the visitors that come under the microscope over the coming days. It was another poor day for Pep Guardiola and his side have lost ground on Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal. The Spaniard needs time to achieve success with Manchester City, but it will be interesting to see how he deals with the first major bump in his managerial career. Here are three things we learned on Sunday:

Manchester City’s players aren’t suited to Guardiola’s system

It could require Pep Guardiola to move away from the style of play we have become accustomed to from his sides as it isn’t working at the moment. Although there are a few players in the squad that appear perfect for the Spaniard’s high intensive style of play, a lot of them simply aren’t. The former Barcelona manager won’t be happy with his squad and will demand lots of investment over the next 18-months to shape it in his image. However, he needs results now and he may need to simplify the tactics to achieve that.

The perfect example is the midfield duo that started on Sunday. Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta are both ageing and struggle to run as much as Guardiola demands from his central midfielders. Everton dominated the midfield area and both City players were caught out of position on a number of occasions. The injury to Ilkay Gundogan was a huge blow for City and they have yet to find the right combination in his absence. Moreover, the two full backs have struggled immensely under Guardiola and have become the main weakness in the City side. Guardiola will want to address both areas with new signings, but in the immediate future, he may need to adapt his methods to get the results that City need over the rest of this campaign.