Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City players were stunned into disbelief when they lost their almost four-month unbeaten run to Tottenham Hotspur in front of their home fans at the weekend. Manchester City have suffered Premier League defeats in the past even if it is rare in comparison to other big teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in recent times, but the manner of the defeat to the Antonio Conte-led Spurs is almost unprecedented in the Premier League era.

Tottenham Hotspur have always been a difficult team for Manchester City irrespective of the players on both sides as demonstrated at the start of the season when Guardiola and his players began the defence of their Premier League title with a 1-0 defeat at Spurs in what was their first game this season. Son Heung-Min was the recipient of the game’s winning goal in the second half. He was always the thorn in the flesh of Manchester City. The defeat to Spurs meant that Manchester City have lost that fixture in each of the last three seasons.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised the performance of Riyad Mahrez following the club’s 3-1 league triumph over Everton on the road. The Citizens had a tough test of their title credentials against the Toffees but Mahrez scored a vital free-kick in the 71st minute which provided them with the key advantage in the contest.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola said that the African Cup of Nations provided plenty of confidence for Mahrez, considering Algeria went all the way to win the trophy. He added to praise the attacker’s mentality and said that he has something special after delivering when the Citizens needed him the most.