Erling Haaland’s double seized the points, took him to 23 goals in 13 games for club and country this season, and kept Tottenham as the only foes the uber-striker has failed to score against this season.
The 25-year-old’s goals – on 58 and 63 minutes – shredded the visitors in two high-quality moments that decorated a generally middling affair.
Pep Guardiola said: “Disappointed he did not score four or five. All jokes aside, really pleased, but we can not rely on just him, we need other players. Wingers, attacking midfielders. They have to make a step up and score. The chances were clear and they have to score. At this level they have to demand themselves. Chances from Savinho and Jérémy [Doku] and Tijjani [Reijnders]. They have to do it, otherwise we can’t do what we want to do.”
Without the injured Rodri and the departed Kevin De Bruyne, this Guardiola iteration does not purr along like his finest ones have. Jack Grealish was not on the sward for Everton because of the parent-club rule and City’s manager may ponder the wisdom of allowing the his nous and class to be loaned away.
So this was an afternoon’s work when the verdict was defined as “job done”, but City’s continuing lack of total control was visible at times.
Guardiola could be content when his men repelled Everton pressure – at first. Theirs is a game of flair. Nico O’Reilly stepped up from left-back and slid a 20-yard attempt inches past Jordan Pickford’s left post, before a Phil Foden defence-splitter aimed for Doku marginally missed.
City’s softness was spied. Nathan Aké’s pass out from defence went straight to Iliman Ndiaye, who cruised forward on Everton’s right and squared; Beto was close to turning the ball past a stranded Gianluigi Donnarumma.
This passage preceded stodgier fare, when the players got bogged down in the middle third or, when breaking into the attack zone, overran the ball, as the usually silky Foden did.
City’s answer was to go route one. This time Foden did what was needed and threaded a corner in from the right. Jake O’Brien rose and inadvertently powered a header that beat Pickford, but not his bar.
With his clever feet and shoulder-drop Ndiaye has shades of Grealish, as seen when he cut in and shot, Donnarumma tipping over. In a quasi-ping-pong phase, City broke via Foden, who touched to the thus-far quiet Haaland: he stamped forward and passed left to Reijnders, whose tap in the same direction located Doku, but Pickford repelled the Belgian’s effort.
Guardiola’s discontent was seen in him imploring Aké to zip the ball left rather than turn back towards goal: when his team did as their manager asked, they prospered. Foden found O’Reilly, who advanced, glanced up and crossed. Haaland’s muscular leap was followed by an emphatic header home.
Could Everton respond? Nearly, because James Garner was soon in City’s area and his shot struck a hand of the newly introduced Bernardo Silva. The visitors wanted a penalty, but Tony Harrington was unmoved.
This scare for City was followed by joy. Yet again the left provided the incisive zone as Foden dropped the ball to Savinho, switched to the flank from the right and when the Brazilian cut the ball to Haaland, his low finish beat Pickford.
In added time, the lethal marksman had two gilded chances to complete a hat-trick, but to much surprise fiddled and failed: almost a collector’s item. David Moyes had a word with Haaland at the end. “I was just telling him I wished he had been somewhere else,” Everton’s manager said, as a joke.
Before the game, it appeared Beto did not take the knee unlike the rest of the players, but he refused to discuss this after the match.
