At the Etihad Stadium, Erling Haaland was in charge of unlocking the victory for Manchester City by 2-0 ante Everton, that left the champion as interim leader on the 24th date of the Premier Leaguebut Liverpool returned to the front with their victory over Burnley.
Erling Haaland unlocked a game that was difficult to open for City EFE/EPA
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The Norwegian giant returned to the goalafter more than two months (which included a long absence due to injury) and with his double (at 71′ and 85′) he defined a vital victory for the local team, which found itself with a rival that sought to hold on to the result to take some point, very necessary.
It was not the first time that it has happened to Pep Guardiola’s team that a rival takes away the spaces and, without completely getting behind, complicates what was supposed to be a certain victory.
But Sean Dyche’s team, 17th in the standings, He remained organized, concentrated and waiting for opportunities in attackwhich gave him a good result in the first half.
In the same way that City, which even left figures like Josko Gvardiol, Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva on the bench – probably thinking about the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Copenhagen – had other stars on the field that, little by little, they pushed Everton against their goal. Erling Haaland dragging marks through the center of the attack, Julian Alvarez loose, but more lying on the right and, although they lacked some depth, when Jeremy Doku escaped down the left, was a cause for concern for the Toffees.
It was a grinding job that the Manchester team is used to doing and Everton’s great challenge was to resist until the end, because when one comes in, City does not forgive. And so it happened, although This time it did not result in a rout or a dance.
After the first minutes of the second half, Guardiola saw that his team could not break the trend of the match and sent Walker, De Bruyne and, later, Grealish onto the field (it was not a good game by Phil Foden) and, although he had the ball and the control of the game, could not generate too many risky situations for Everton.
The difference was made by having Haaland. His chances were few, but his effectiveness and finishing ability reached to reach the victory, which leaves City two points behind Liverpool, with one game less.