Erling Haaland announces his return in style with a brace to secure City a 2-0 win over Everton, reminding the league of what its best striker is capable of
Scoring against the fourth-best defense in the league was never going to be an easy task, as the Blues found themselves struggling to break down a resilient Everton side. Despite creating chances such as Doku’s cross, which Haaland couldn’t convert, pep Guardiola’s men found themselves unable to break the deadlock within the first 45 minutes as the first half finished level with no shots on target by the treble winners.
The second half mostly followed the first half’s script, with a goal looking unlikely until the 71st minute when City finally found a breakthrough thanks to their main goal scorer, Erling Haaland, smashing in a loose ball from a corner to give City the lead. Soon after, City got their second through a classic site whose absence this season was sorely missed by city faithful, with Kevin De Bruyne playing an inch-perfect through ball to Haaland, who bulldozed past his defender, slotting it in and securing the three points.
Man City find themselves top of the table now with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool having a game in hand, being set to face Burnley later on Saturday afternoon.
Player Ratings
Ederson 5
Not tested much but performed when necessary
Ake 7
Helped in the attack and was solid defensively
Dias 7
Another solid display didn’t put a foot wrong
Stones 7
Continued to show his attacking worth to this city side by playing progressive passes and helping the attack
Rodri 7
Passed the ball well and stopped counters when needed
Nunes 5
Aggressive attacking intent, but things didn’t fall his way today
Foden 7
Active and always looking to receive the ball
Doku 7
The main attacking threat of the first half
Alvarez 6
Lacked the spark to create much in the final third
Haaland 8
Two goals and showed when fed, he will deliver
Substitutes
De Bruyne 7
Tried creating chances as soon as he came on and was rewarded with an assist to haaland’s second
Walker 7
Didn’t let anything get past him; a solid showing from the captain
Silva 6
Retained the ball well and slowed down the tempo
Grealish 6
Looked sharp but didn’t get the opportunity to do much
