Manchester City closed the gap on their Premier League title rivals with a hard-fought 3-1 victory at Everton on Wednesday night. The Cityzens were forced to come from behind at Goodison Park after Jack Harrison had given the Toffees the lead, and Everton hadn’t lost under Sean Dyche this season after scoring first. However, the newly-crowned world champions produced a vintage second-half display on Merseyside to secure all three points as Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva all got on the scoresheet.
How the game unfolded
There were no early signs of Club World Cup fatigue from the visitors as the remarkable perfection of their possession subdued a typically raucous Goodison Park. City were dominant in the opening 20 minutes and would’ve gone ahead if it wasn’t for a fine double save from Jordan Pickford. The Premier League’s most proficient set-piece performers then started to find a route into the game via dead ball situations which sparked Goodison into life. Any wayward Cityzen pass was met with a distinct increase in volume, and Everton were emboldened by the visitors’ growing sloppiness. Eventually, a pair of errors from Rodri and Silva allowed Dwight McNeil to hit the byline and his drilled cross was met by Harrison first time to give the hosts the lead. A once imperious City were shackled, and Everton then looked more likely to grab a second before half-time until John Stones’ injury halted any momentum. It had the makings of a frustrating night for Pep Guardiola’s side in the wet and wind of Goodison, but a thunderous Foden strike at the start of the second half brought the Cityzens level. The world champions turned it up a notch after the restart, and their pressure was relentless. James Tarkowski nearly converted into his own net on two occasions before the visitors were rewarded a spot-kick for handball just after the hour, and Alvarez squeezed his effort home. However, as was the case in the first half, City’s seemingly unrelenting control did fade, and Everton once again found ways of sparking optimism within the Goodison faithful. Substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin came close to restoring parity soon after his entrance, but a Jordan Pickford error in possession then confirmed all three points for the visitors as Silva coolly converted into an empty net late on.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Jordan Pickford – 5/10
Nathan Patterson – 7/10
James Tarkowski – 7/10
Jarrad Branthwaite – 8/10
Vitalii Mykolenko – 6/10
Jack Harrison – 7/10
Amadou Onana – 6/10
James Garner – 6/10
Dwight McNeil – 7/10
Andre Gomes – 5/10
Beto – 6/10
Substitutes:
Michael Keane (65′ for Gomes) – 6/10
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (65′ for Beto) – 5/10
Arnaut Danjuma (80′ for Harrison) – 5/10
Player Ratings Manager:
Sean Dyche – 7/10
Manchester City Player Ratings
Ederson – 7/10
Kyle Walker – 7/10
Manuel Akanji – 6/10
Nathan Ake – 8/10
John Stones – 6/10
Rodri – 8/10
Bernardo Silva – 7/10
Phil Foden – 9/10
Matheus Nunes – 5/10
Jack Grealish – 8/10
Julian Alvarez – 7/10
Substitutes:
Josko Gvardiol (43′ for Stones) – 7/10
Mateo Kovacic (65′ for Nunes) – 5/10
Manager:
Pep Guardiola – 8/10