Pep Guardiola was delighted with the attitude that his Manchester City side showed in their win over Everton.
A second-half brace from Gabriel Jesus gave them a lead that they would not let slip despite a howler from Claudio Bravo allowing the visitors back into the game at the Etihad.
That three points keeps them a point behind Leicester in second place after the Foxes won at Newcastle earlier in the day, and prevents Liverpool from going further ahead at the top of the table.
Guardiola was unsure how his players would react in 2018 after winning the title but watched on in admiration as they clawed back a deficit to become the first side in a decade to win back-to-back Premier Leagues. This season, the distance to Liverpool may be too much to recover but the City manager reckons his side will keep pushing them throughout the second half of the season.
Whatever position his team finish in, Guardiola remains impressed with their application and the way they have responding to falling so far behind in the title race.
"I’m so delighted about the performance and behaviour as always," he said after the game.
"Being far away from first position after being champions for the previous two seasons, teams in normal situations give up and can finish seventh or eighth in the table.
"Maybe we are going to finish seventh or eighth in the table but not because we don’t try. We played so good."
