A round-up of how the national media reported on Everton's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 18: Erling Haaland of Manchester City tussles with James Tarkowski of Everton during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Everton at Etihad Stadium on October 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Erling Haaland of Manchester City tussles with James Tarkowski of Everton (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Everton held out for almost an hour against Manchester City before being underdone by a clinical Erling Haaland brace. The prolific striker scored twice in the space of five second-half minutes to earn Pep Guardiola's side a 2-0 win.
It took Haaland's tally for the term up to an incredible 23 goals in 13 games for club and country and left Everton with a feeling of what might have been after a positive first-half display at the Etihad.
The ECHO was on hand to deliver our usual mix of player ratings, verdict and analysis. But here's how the national media reported on the game...
In the Independent, Richard Jolly wrote: "On 23 August, when Tottenham Hotspur visited the Etihad Stadium, Erling Haaland did not score. It was notable then. It is still more so now. It is the only game this season in which he played, for either club or country, when he has not found the net, the only one since May that he has started but not scored in.
"Haaland’s goals can seem one of the great footballing certainties. Manchester City and Norway can revel in the predictability of it all. Opponents may end up resigned to the inevitability of it all. The chants of his surname can sound like a particularly ominous Viking war cry. It is a warning, a prophecy: Haaland will be on the scoresheet as well as their lips.
"So when David Moyes headed towards him after the final whistle, it was with a light-hearted message. "I wish he was somewhere else," said the Everton manager. "Most managers would be thinking the same."
"But that is the difficulty of facing him. Everton denied Haaland an effort on goal of any description in the first 57 minutes. Six minutes later, he was on a hat-trick. Phil Foden was instrumental in that, playing incisive passes in the build-up to each goal. Moyes felt Foden took over as the best player on the pitch from Iliman Ndiaye, who gave Everton a threat on the break. They did not come just to defend, offering a counterattacking threat.
"Ndiaye drew a fine save from Gianluigi Donnarumma with a rasping, rising shot. When Nathan Ake gave the ball away and the Senegalese crossed, a sliding Beto almost turned it in. Beto missed a second chance, flagged offside but perhaps on. Had it gone in, VAR may have intervened. If Everton have an erratic striker, City have a clinical one. "Such comparisons may be unfair to Beto, of course. Haaland’s true peers are men such as Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, each contesting the unofficial title of the best centre-forward in the world. There may be no definitive answer but, as Guardiola said a few weeks ago, City would not swap him for anyone."
Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mailwrote: "Fresh from barking instructions as an auxiliary coach during anxious final moments down at Brentford, Rodri was back in the Manchester City dressing room as part of the extended backroom staff on Saturday.
"He’d been hopping about in the technical area at the Gtech, even after tweaking a hamstring an hour before, in scenes to underline the midfielder’s leadership within this group. A fortnight later, in the City tunnel - sporting a smart denim jacket, it must be said - Rodri was getting around team-mates as they went in goalless against Everton.
"Pep Guardiola gently interrupted and began delivering detailed instructions to Phil Foden and Nico O’Reilly. Even though Iliman Ndiaye threatened to make this all about him, regularly taking several defenders for walks, dazzling in front of the ineligible Jack Grealish, City had clearly earmarked the Senegalese’s side to exploit.
"Ndiaye didn’t offer Jake O'Brien a major amount of protection and Guardiola wanted the two academy graduates to take advantage. Within 13 minutes of the restart, Erling Haaland was thundering in a header from an exquisite O'Reilly cross from an area manufactured by Foden.
"Foden, along with a handful of others, rushed to congratulate the left back rather than Haaland. In netting a scarcely believable 23rd of the season for club and country, the Norwegian had a second shortly after, sweeping Savinho’s cutback underneath Jordan Pickford. Also, a move instigated by Foden, discombobulating Everton with a crossfield clip.
"David Moyes conceded that the opener resembled ‘textbook City’, so hardly a surprise that Foden was right in the middle of it. Everton’s manager described Ndiaye as the best player on the pitch before the break - a correct assessment - before insisting that he was then overtaken by Foden, also a correct assessment."
Iliman Ndiaye reacts after a missed opportunity during the match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad Stadium on October 18, 2025
Iliman Ndiaye reacts after a missed opportunity during the match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad Stadium on October 18, 2025
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Ian Whittell in The Times wrote: "Erling Haaland’s goalscoring statistics have long since ceased to surprise, to the extent that it now seems safe to say that we have reached the point where the only person with whom he is competing in the Premier League record books is Erling Haaland.
"His two goals in five second-half minutes finally broke down Everton, sans Jack Grealish, at the Etihad Stadium and meant that, for just the third time in the league’s history, a player has scored 10 times in the first eight games of a campaign. When one considers that Haaland is responsible for the other two instances, both of which saw him reach double figures at a quicker rate than in this campaign, then the extent of his dominance truly becomes apparent. In short, this is only the third-best start to a league campaign in Haaland’s four seasons in English football.
"Certainly, the huge landmark of 100 league goals will, on present form, put his achievements into even sharper focus, as Haaland’s two here took him to 96 in 105 league appearances. The record holder for fastest to the century is Alan Shearer, who required 124 games for his 100 goals, with Harry Kane second, on 141 matches.
"When names such as Shearer and Kane start being left in Haaland’s wake, then the Norwegian’s achievements start being put into context. And, as Everton sought to join Tottenham Hotspur as the only team to deny Haaland a goal so far this season, Moyes’ side demonstrated the strides they have taken in his 10 months in charge.
"There may have been no Grealish, but Everton’s right wing proved a potentially profitable point of attack and, from there, Iliman Ndiaye’s early cross was almost turned in by Beto, before Ndiaye forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into the save of the game as he tipped a ferocious drive over the City bar.
"The day belonged to Haaland, however, although he at least had the decency to prove he can occasionally err as he twice missed a potential hat-trick goal deep in stoppage time, stumbling over the ball slightly on both occasions, and allowing Pickford to save, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat."
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Mike McGrath of the Daily Telegraph wrote: "Pep Guardiola eventually apologised after once saying Tottenham Hotspur, somewhat disparagingly, were the “Harry Kane team”. But there is a strong argument to suggest that his current Manchester City side and Erling Haaland have that exact status.
"As they drifted towards a disappointing afternoon against a stubborn Everton team, it was Haaland who scored two goals to propel City towards the top of the Premier League table again. It was the 11th consecutive match for City and Norway that he has found the net.
"At the moment he is unstoppable. Even his old nemesis Everton eventually buckled. They wound him up three seasons ago, with Ben Godfrey driving him to the point of distraction. Haaland’s reaction sparked a million memes, and showed a centre-back could get under his skin.
"But eventually the 25-year-old gets his chance. His goals were with his first efforts on goal and came after his most valuable first-half contribution in a penalty box was a clearance as Everton attacked. But with just one sight of goal he proved the difference between the two teams.
"Scored either side of the hour mark, his goals were his 95th and 96th in the Premier League for City and the century will be up soon."
And Joe Thomas of the ECHO wrote: "Everton’s emotions on the final whistle told the story of this game. James Tarkowski exchanged words with Erling Haaland before Pep Guardiola intervened in the centre circle. Jordan Pickford, the last player off the pitch, shook his head and gave a rueful smile as he stepped off the turf.
"David Moyes applauded the away end while looking as though his thoughts were elsewhere. They probably were. A glance at the 2-0 scoreline would give the impression of a predictable affair, one of an hour of stubbornness from Everton before the might of Manchester City proved too much for them to handle. The reality is somewhat different.
"This was a tale of the Blues’ progress and its limitations. For an 60 minutes, they had matched their illustrious hosts almost blow-for-blow as the sides exchanged chances.
"The Etihad has yielded valuable draws in recent years for Everton but they were built on rearguard defensive displays. A result felt possible here for two thirds of the match and did so because Everton presented a genuine threat to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goal."