Manchester City ground out a hard-fought victory at Goodison Park on Saturday night courtesy of a Riyad Mahrez masterclass.
Gabriel Jesus had headed City into the first half on 24’, before some terrific work by Seamus Coleman and a poacher’s goal by Dominic Calvert Lewin put Everton level.
A sumptuous Riyad Mahrez free-kick then put the Citizens ahead once more, before Ederson Moraes single-handedly kept the champions in the game.
Raheem Sterling added a third to seal the game late on, but the scoreline far from reflects the true picture; Everton went toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s men, and would have dealt them their second loss of the season had it not been for a superb showing from Ederson.
Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus combine
German internation Ilkay Gundogan started in midfield, alongside Kevin De Bruyne and summer signing Rodri. Rodri, being a serial ball winner and possession retainer, is more of an ‘enabling’ player, than a destructive player.
Likewise is Gabriel Jesus, who drops deep and sacrifices his involvement to get runners and wingers involved. With De Bruyne effectively pulling strings from all over City’s midfield, having three central ‘enabler’ players left City shuffling the ball from side to side without any central penetrating power.
With Rodri an established starter at DM, only one of Gundogan and Jesus should start if City are to retain the full balance and functionality of their midfield options.
Positioning and Discipline
Marco Silva’s plan might’ve been thrown out of the window when Theo Walcott was stretchered off in the infancy of the game. However, his side’s solidity and their rigidity whilst not in possession was a marvel to behold. Pressing City’s backline in a line of three, as well as creating a ‘wall’ of two or three that couldn’t be dribbled past when the ball was inevitably sprayed out wide very effectively neutralised City’s threat from the left flank.
Further, taking their time in the build-up and not looking for extravagance in the final third also caused City lots of problems; the Sigurdsson pass for Calvert-Lewin comes to mind. It was a masterclass in defensive stubbornness from Everton – till Sergio Aguero came on and forced distortions, which City then clinically capitalised on.
Riyad Mahrez continues to impress for the Citizens
Mahrez was deservedly man of the match for his Saturday outing, and after a season of uncertainty, has nailed down his position as a pivotal man in the City XI. Whilst he will almost certainly be a victim of Guardiola’s wheel of rotation, it is hard to see him not starting City’s most important games henceforth.
Displaying silky dribbling skills, a great arsenal of tricks as well as an unparalleled first touch, Mahrez is everything you want from today’s wingers. When he’s joined by Joao Cancelo on that right flank, the output may touch astronomical levels.
Everton impress but fail to secure victory
Everton yesterday showed what sort of team they are when their players – attacking ones particularly – are on song. A simplistic but efficient performance by Sigurdsson went a little under the radar, as Seamus Coleman stole the show from right back, bringing the ball bravely out of defence, putting in the tackles and chipping Ederson deftly to ‘assist’ Everton’s equaliser. Richarlison made Zinchenko have the most worrying 90 minutes he’s had in quite a while, by being pacey and direct. Fabian Delph didn’t try anything glamourous; he did his job from midfield and did it excellently.
The entire Everton team chipped in and punched well above their weight. It was a glimpse into what one could expect from such a talented team under the right motivation. With Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United going through lacklustre spells, Leicester City are stepping up. Everton haven’t thus far, but yesterday showed that they can. It’s up to Marco Silva to find the motivating factors.
Sublime De Bruyne continues to shine for City
Kevin De Bruyne registered yet another assist, putting in a beautiful cross for Jesus to head home from three yards. De Bruyne now has eight assists to his name before the start of October – 12 away from Thierry Henry’s all-time assist record (20 in a single season).
With the form he’s in, it looks like we may have a new assist record holder come May, with De Bruyne’s form too hot to handle for opposing defenders. So much so, that few would argue against the assertion that the Belgian is currently the world’s best midfielder.
Up Next:
Everton travel to Turf Moor to meet Burnley the coming weekend, whilst Manchester City await the visit of Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, before Wolves visit the Etihad over the weekend, looking to build on from this week’s win over Watford.
