Guardiola remains optimistic as Man City come off against Toffees

Pep Guardiola remains optimistic about Manchester City's performance despite Demarai Gray's superb equalizer which dented the Champions title hopes on New Year's Eve.

Gray chose the top right corner with Everton's first shot of the game after 64 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, nullifying Erling Haaland's opener in a 1-1 draw.

Having lost to Brentford before the World Cup, City have failed to win in consecutive league games at home for the first time since May 2021 and remain winless in the Premier League on December 31 (D4 L1) .< /p>

While City's dropped points gave Arsenal the initiative for an intriguing battle at the top of the table, Guardiola saw no reason to criticize his side's performance.

"Great game. We've played very well in the last three games and that makes me optimistic," he told BBC Sport.

“Losing points at home is always difficult, but I always try to make sure our game is good, and we have continued to do so.

"I would say they had eight at the back. In this situation, it's all about movement and attacking at the right time. In general, we did it. We didn't allow them transitions.

"They scored a fantastic goal and when that happens you say congratulations, but in general we did very well."

However, defender John Stones was less positive, lamenting City's failure to find a second goal against a resilient Everton side.

"I don't really know what to say. I feel like we've dropped two points," said the former Toffees centre-back. "That's football.

"We controlled the game most of the time and had a lot of chances, but we didn't manage to score that goal.

"It's hard to take after the game. We showed great character to keep fighting and pushing. It was a bit of a scrappy game.

"We conceded two shots the whole game, but it went unnoticed because of that amazing goal. On reflection, we'll be more positive when we look back, I'm sure."