Pep Guardiola: Marc Guehi knows he made a mistake in Everton draw | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has backed Marc Guehi after the centre-back’s error contributed to Everton’s equaliser in Monday’s 3-3 draw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium

Guehi’s underhit backpass to Gianluigi Donnarumma was intercepted by Thierno Barry in the second half, with the Everton forward slotting home to level the scores at 1-1 before the Toffees went on to score twice more and take a 3-1 lead.

Jeremy Doku‘s 97th-minute equaliser ultimately salvaged a point for City but the error had triggered a damaging collapse that cost Guardiola’s side two points in the title race.

Guehi issued a public statement after the game taking personal responsibility for the mistake, a response that will have gone down well within the dressing room and with Guardiola himself.

Guardiola: Apart from the mistake, Guehi made a top game

Speaking in a press conference ahead of Saturday’s home fixture with Brentford, Guardiola was brief and unambiguous in his defence of Guehi.

“He made a top game,” the City manager said of the England international. “He knows he made a mistake but it’s part of the game. Apart from that, he made a top game.”

The backing is significant. Guardiola has consistently emphasised the importance of collective responsibility when individual errors occur, and his public support for Guehi – framing the mistake as an accepted part of football rather than a defining moment – reflects the trust he has placed in the 25-year-old since his £20 million arrival from Crystal Palace in January.

Will Guehi retain his starting spot vs Brentford?

Guehi has been one of City’s most consistent performers in the second half of the season, forming a reliable defensive partnership with Abdukodir Khusanov in the absence of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, the pair of whom have returned to full first-team training this week.

Guardiola praised both centre-backs as “extraordinary” in the build-up to the Everton draw and his response on Friday suggests one error has done nothing to alter that assessment.

It could benefit Guehi to be taken out of the lineup against Brentford on Saturday evening as Manchester City pursue a domestic treble in the final weeks of the season, with no margin for error for the Blues in their final four Premier League fixtures.