James Tarkowski said Everton showed tenacious competitiveness despite losing 0-2 to a red-hot Manchester City. However, he also admitted that Everton should not easily give away easy scoring opportunities to an efficient and calm striker like Erling Haaland.  

The player said: "We performed well in the first half and the opponent also created some chances. The two sides were evenly matched and our tactics were well executed. There was a simple pass in the game, which came from behind us and gave the opponent a chance to open the situation. Facing a player like Haaland, once he is given a chance, he usually seizes it, and this is also his performance today."  

"You have to deny him the chances to shoot because he usually scores, like when he crosses in. "Before that, we defended really well and closed down the space."  

"We always knew we were going to miss some chances, so we had to defend ourselves or hope Jordan would make a key save, which he did. But in reality, this chance was too easy for him."  

As the team captain, James Tarkowski performed particularly well on the defensive end, winning seven of eight duels and completing eight clearances, leading the team.  

James Tarkowski discussed Everton's strategy for the match against Manchester City: "Against a strong opponent, we want to maintain our lead for as long as possible. Pressing is important, but it cannot be achieved without structure. Therefore, we work hard to press while also focusing on maintaining a good shape and discipline."  

"I think we basically executed our plan in the first half, attacking aggressively and quickly. Although we created several scoring opportunities, we failed to seize them. I think the two goals were scored too close to each other, which reduced the suspense of the game. We tried our best to maintain the rhythm of the game and wanted to score a goal to put the opponent under pressure, but unfortunately, this did not really happen."