Guardiola warns Man City must be wary of slip-ups in title run-in after thrashing Brighton

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he warned his players to let Liverpool's surprise loss to Everton serve as a reminder that any team can slip up in the title race, before watching them thrash Brighton away 4-0.

City moved a point behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and leapfrogged Liverpool into second spot thanks to Phil Foden’s double and goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Julian Alvarez.

Victory on England's south coast came 24 hours after Liverpool suffered a 2-0 defeat to their Merseyside rivals at Goodison Park.

It was a second defeat on the bounce for Jurgen Klopp's side, having fallen to a shock 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this month.

Guardiola, whose reigning champions have a game in hand over their two closest rivals, insists the Reds remain contenders and acknowledges City are also susceptible to slipping up during the run-in.

“I said to the players what happened to Liverpool can happen to us and can happen to Arsenal,” said the Spaniard.

“People didn’t expect them to lose against Crystal Palace and yesterday but it can happen to us – it’s football.

“Everton is playing to avoid the relegation zone and we have a similar game at Nottingham Forest [on Sunday] and they play for their lives.

“Maybe because they were a real contender of ours for many years, my appreciation for Liverpool is higher than ever.

“Still it [the title] is there [for Liverpool] because I know the character of their team. They are going to fight until the end and we have to do it too.”

Simply sensational, @KevinDeBruyne!