Manchester City 2 Everton 0: match reportHaaland’s excellent form continues as brace seals victory over Everton for the Blues
Manchester City hosted Everton on Saturday afternoon in their first game following the international break. Donnarumma started in goal. O’Reilly, Ake, Dias, and Nunes started in defence. Gonzalez, Reijnders, and Foden were in midfield with Doku, Savinho, and Haaland in attack. Marmoush, Cherki, and Kovacic all returned to the squad following injuries however, Rodri, Khushanov, and Ait Nouri remained absent.
The first half saw Everton frustrating City, employing a strong defensive setup which the Blues struggled to break down. The first major chance of the game was actually for the Toffees in the 14th minute, when Beto attempted to receive a cross in a good position, but he couldn’t quite get there and the ball fell wide. The next minute, Savinho took a shot on goal at the other end from a tight angle but also missed the target
Following a free, Nunes fired the ball towards goal in the 15th minute, but his shot was wide. Reijnders also had a good chance with a shot off a pass in from Savinho but his attempt was saved by Pickford. Haaland hit the bar from a corner and following a good move in the 41st minute from Reijnder’s, Doku couldn’t quite finish it off with a goal. Goalless at half time.
The second half saw City attack with more intent and eventually make the breakthrough. In the 58th minute, O’Reilly charged down the wing and floated a cross into Haaland who headed it in to give the Blues the lead. Everton’s resistance was finally broken. Following the first goal, changes were made. Reijnders was taken off for Bernardo Silva and Doku was taken off for Bobb, with Savinho moving to the left wing.
This change proved more effective for City and Savinho’s output too. In the 63rd minute, Foden spotted Savinho on the wing and passed the ball long. Savinho found Haaland in a gap between defenders and provided the assist for a deflected goal to double the Blues lead and give Haaland his second goal of the day. Now City were in a far more comfortable position and were in control for the remainder of the match. More changes were made for the Blues in the final 10 minutes with Cherki, Kovacic, and O’Reilly coming on in place of Savinho, Gonzalez, and Lewis. Cherki, returning from injury showed promising signs, creating chances for Haaland, who frustratingly couldn’t quite get his hat-trick to top the result off despite being one on one with Pickford on two occasions late in the game. One such chance almost gave Cherki himself a goal on his return, but his shot was deflected away from goal. City finished the match firmly in control and the final score was 2-0
Following the result, City went to top of the table but were later moved down to 2nd after Arsenal’s defeat of Fulham. Promising signs are still very much on show for the Blues, with them still being unbeaten since the end of August and the signing of Donnarumma showing its worth – with the Italian goalkeeper not experiencing defeat at City as of yet. They face Villareal on Tuesday evening, continuing their European campaign and will then face Aston Villa away next in the Premier League.
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