Manchester City’s quest for an unprecedented quadruple carries on into April and will take them to Wembley twice in consecutive weekends. The Carabao Cup finalists are now FA Cup semi-finalists and while City could pocket four trophies in a couple of months, Everton’s wait for any silverware dates back to 1995 and will extend for at least another year. Obdurate opponents were eventually overcome. “An incredible victory,” said Pep Guardiola, who tasted victory for the 25th time in 26 matches. “I will never forget what we did in the last four months. This was the toughest game we played since the last international break.”
So it was fitting that the pivotal goal came from City’s possible player of the season; indeed, the possible player of the year. “If you want to fight for trophies, you have to find a way,” said Ilkay Gündogan. He has specialised in doing that in City’s wondrous winter. A few months ago it would have sounded fanciful to suggest Gündogan, a scorer of 17 goals in the previous three seasons, could get 16 in one campaign but he has. When his stooping header went into an unguarded goal, it was doubly significant: firstly in its importance and secondly in the way he now assumes a poacher’s positions. “He was in the place you have to be as a striker or an attacking midfielder to score,” Guardiola said. Kevin De Bruyne garnished victory with a last-minute second but, in a microcosm of the season, Gündogan made the most telling intervention.
His belated breakthrough was also an indication of how City’s supposedly defensive players assumed more attacking duties in their search for an opener. Aymeric Laporte carried the ball forward from the back, linked up with De Bruyne and unleashed a shot that João Virginia did well to tip on to the bar. But there, plunging forward to head in, was Gündogan.
“We were almost there,” rued the Everton manager, Carlo Ancelotti. “For 80 minutes, we had the game under control. But Man City is not a normal team at the moment: they are the best in the world.” His replacements were largely youngsters, providing a contrast with City. “They have the best bench in the world,” Ancelotti added.
City’s extraordinary run has been a triumph of strength in depth and presumably Ancelotti could only look on in envy as Guardiola brought on a trio acquired for a combined cost of £170m in Riyad Mahrez, De Bruyne and Rodri. All three played a part in the Belgian’s goal. Everton argued they should have received a free kick when Mahrez raised a boot as Yerry Mina headed a clearance, though there was no contact. But the ball broke to Rodri, whose first touch after coming on was to release De Bruyne. He duly finished.
Everton finished with just 26% of possession, their third lowest share since such figures were first compiled; that number was as low as 13% the opening 25 minutes. An Ancelotti side can rarely have seen so little of the ball but the first half was an extended impasse. Everton nevertheless limited City to a solitary shot on target before the break.
It illustrated that Ancelotti, who has coached many a Galactico, can also configure a defence and congest central areas. “They defended really aggressively,” Guardiola said admiringly. Certainly, Everton were careful to afford their third-choice goalkeeper plenty of protection with a trio of dutiful centre-backs.
Deputising for the injured Jordan Pickford and Robin Olsen, Virginia achieved a rare double: his first two starts for Everton came against clubs from Greater Manchester: Salford City and Manchester City. The 21-year-old only had to field a long-range effort from the recalled Raheem Sterling in the first half.
Thereafter City got an injection of urgency. Like Laporte later, Fernandinho started to make driving runs into the Everton box. He teed up Sterling, who perhaps should have scored with his shot; Virginia impressed with a fine save. “He did really well,” Ancelotti said. “He has not much experience but he has quality.”
If his strikers were forced to feed on scraps, that almost proved a profitable policy. Richarlison has the resourcefulness and elusiveness to conjure something out of nothing. He improvised an overhead kick that went narrowly wide and directed a half-volley just past the post. In between, Oleksandr Zinchenko headed Yerry Mina’s header off his line as Everton’s greater height gave them a set-piece menace but Zack Steffen had little to do as City chalked up a 14th clean sheet of 2021. Guardiola added: “The most important thing is we didn’t make a mistake and we didn’t concede.”
