Manchester City faced off against Everton at Goodison Park earlier tonight looking to get a victory which would take them to the top of the Premier League standings. The Citizens dominated possession early on and created a number of good chances to score. However, the Toffees defended valiantly to make it difficult for City to break them down.
Aymeric Laporte gave the away side the all-important lead with a fantastic header just before half-time which relieved a lot of pressure off their shoulders. The second half was more of the same with Pep Guardiola’s men retaining possession, and they finally managed to kill the game off in stoppage time when Gabriel Jesus scored with a fortunate finish from close range.
Everton did not create many chances during the game which led to their downfall as the match finished 1-0 in favour of the Citizens.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player fared during the match against the Toffees.
GK: Ederson – 6/10
The Brazilian keeper was hardly tested during the match by the Everton attackers. He was sloppy in possession at times but did enough to keep a clean sheet.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10
The English full-back had to do a lot of defending in the second half but did his job well to stop the Toffees from scoring.
CB: John Stones – 7/10
He quietly went about his game in defence and performed well under pressure to earn a shut-out on the night.
CB: Nicolás Otamendi – 7/10
The Argentine defender used all his experience to see out another vital win for the Citizens.
LB: Aymeric Laporte – 8/10
The French defender rose above everyone to score with a fantastic header in the first half injury time. He also did his defensive duties well and managed to keep Theo Walcott quiet during the match.
CM: IIkay Gündogan – 7/10
The German talent linked up play quite effectively from midfield and was unlucky not to score in the first half when his goal-bound shot hit the bar.
CM: Fernandinho – 7/10
The Brazilian midfielder protected the City backline well and made some crucial interceptions at the centre of the park.
CAM: David Silva – 8/10
The Spaniard pulled strings from midfield and managed to create some fantastic opportunities in the first half. However, he was not as effective in the second half.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 6/10
The Portuguese winger worked hard for the Citizens but failed to make an impact going forward.
ST: Sergio Agüero – 6/10
The Argentine forward was mostly ineffective during the encounter, but he did show some neat touches in the opposition half.
LM: Leroy Sané – 5.5/10
The German speedster was caught off-side on quite a few occasions in the first half. He was subbed off at the hour mark after failing to find the back of the net.
Substitutes:
LM: Raheem Sterling – 7/10
The English forward used his pace to stretch the Everton backline which gave the City defenders some breathing room at the back.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 7/10
The Brazilian scored with a fortunate finish in injury-time.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
