Pep Guardiola urges his Man City players to 'have a coffee' as he points out key area of improvement in dramatic comeback victory at Liverpool

Pep Guardiola called on his Manchester City stars to "have a coffee" to find more composure in front of goal after a breathless 2-1 comeback win at Anfield. Despite securing a vital victory that cuts Arsenal’s lead at the summit to six points, the City boss was critical of his side's frantic nature in both boxes. Erling Haaland’s late penalty eventually sealed a dramatic turnaround against the reigning champions.City’s victory on Sunday was a significant one for Guardiola, as it was his first win at Anfield in front of a capacity crowd since joining the club in 2016. While City famously won 4-1 on Merseyside in 2021, that fixture was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic, leading Guardiola to joke that it "doesn't count" compared to the intensity of a full stadium. The result serves as a massive boost to City’s title aspirations, moving them to within six points of league leaders Arsenal while inflicting a major blow on Liverpool’s hopes for Champions League qualification.The match itself was a tale of two halves. City dominated the opening 45 minutes with 10 shots to Liverpool's three but failed to capitalise on their chances, eventually falling behind to a spectacular 30-yard free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai in the second period. Facing a daunting atmosphere and a one-goal deficit, City showed remarkable resilience. A late equaliser from Bernardo Silva set the stage for the 93rd-minute winner, as Erling Haaland converted from the penalty spot after Matheus Nunes was fouled by Alisson Becker.Despite the elation of the late turnaround, Guardiola was characteristically focused on the areas where his side fell short. He expressed frustration at a lack of composure when his players reached the opponent's area, suggesting they were too rushed in their decision-making. The manager noted that his side's "exceptional" first-half display was undermined by a failure to remain calm in the final third, which allowed Liverpool to stay in the game and eventually take the lead.""The first half was exceptional but many times we are not composed enough in the final third, a little bit more calm to take the right decisions," Guardiola said. "In the boxes you have to take a coffee, as a defender and as a striker, and we are so all the actions, always arrive one metre before or one metre later, never in the spot."But we are so young in many, many things and second half, we knew that they would push a little bit more, in the first half we played some long balls and we fought and Omar (Marmoush) and Erling they were there because I know it’s an incredibly difficult task [dealing with Ibrahima] Konate and [Virgil] van Dijk, to win those balls, but the second half not even try."Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!The catalyst for City's survival in a hostile environment was captain Bernardo Silva, whom Guardiola hailed as "one of the best players I ever trained". While other stars struggled with the aforementioned lack of composure, Silva remained the team's guiding light, following up his equaliser by providing the crucial pass that led to the match-winning penalty. Guardiola emphasised that the entire squad, including himself, follows the example set by the Portuguese midfielder's work rate and intelligence.Guardiola highlighted how Silva's leadership helped the team navigate the moments after Szoboszlai’s goal, which had threatened to derail City's afternoon. "Being guided by our incredible player, our captain Bernardo, we follow him, I follow him too," the manager added. "Because when a player always puts the team in front of him and does things through his own example, everybody follows him. Me the first, and he scored the first one and made the assist for the penalty to Matheus (Nunes), and yeah we won finally I would say at Anfield, always it’s so difficult and I’m happy for the result for the guys, because we were there." Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingThe match concluded in extraordinary fashion as Liverpool’s Szoboszlai was sent off in the 100th minute following a controversial VAR review. The incident occurred as Rayan Cherki rolled the ball into an empty net for City on the break; however, the goal was disallowed after officials ruled that Szoboszlai and Haaland had fouled each other in the build-up. The Hungarian midfielder was dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, leaving Liverpool to finish the game with 10 men and a mounting injury crisis.For City, the three points are transformative. With 13 games remaining, the six-point gap to Arsenal feels bridgeable, particularly with a Carabao Cup final and Champions League fixtures on the horizon. Guardiola acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead, stating: "It is still a lot considering how strong Arsenal are in all departments. It is better to have. I said the same, 13 games is a lot in the Premier League."The final of the Carabao Cup is coming, the Champions League is here... so many games," Guardiola added. "Injuries and many things and every team play for something - Champions League qualification, Europa League, Conference League or not being relegated."Every game, the last 10 games from my experience, not drama but it is so difficult. The important thing is to try to be there, improve because the second half was not good enough again, and the game we did against Spurs was not good enough to win three points."Today it could happen the same. But it is a young team and maybe in the recent future we can improve on that."