Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is looking ahead to Sunday’s game against Chelsea after watching his side defeat Everton on Wednesday night.

The defending champions weren’t firing on all cylinders, and it was the best Everton have looked in weeks, but City still managed to take enough from the game to overtake Liverpool on goal difference at the top of the table.

“Now comes a really big test against Chelsea, they are an exceptional team,” said Guardiola. 

“It’s a real final for us this weekend and if we are able to take all the points we will make a huge step forward.”

Both he and Everton manager Marco Silva were annoyed at the scheduling which has led to them only having a few days between games.

Silva perhaps has more reason to be aggrieved, as his side will travel to Watford tomorrow having had just two days to rest and prepare.

“It is a tough period for us. If you ask me if I’m happy to play tonight and play again in three days, it’s not normal,” said Silva. 

“Even if I think more and more I still can’t understand. Not just for us, but for City also, it doesn’t make sense. 

“Why we are playing on the next Saturday if you can play on Sunday or Monday?”

Guardiola recalls hearing about this problem while he was managing in Spain and Germany and is at a loss as to why nothing has changed.

“When I was at Barcelona and Bayern Munich I used to listen to managers like Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez complaining about the schedules, and nothing happened,” he added.

“I arrived here and I said I understand the situation. If we played just one competition, the schedule would be better, but when you have to play four you have to adapt.”

Aymeric Laporte opened the scoring on Merseyside, heading home David Silva’s free-kick just before half-time. It’s been a familiar problem for Everton, who have conceded 19 goals from set-pieces this season.

The second City goal came deep into stoppage-time at the end of the game when Kevin De Bruyne slid a pass to fellow substitute Gabriel Jesus who beat Jordan Pickford at the second time of asking.

Toffees manager Silva praised the Everton supporters for sticking with their team until the end.

“The reaction our fans made at the end of the match is everything our players need at the moment,” he said. 

“Even if they are not happy about the result, it is normal, it is something the players needed and will make them stronger for the next match.”