Pep Guardiola came out with a unique lineup as Manchester City bested Carlo Ancelotti’s in-form Everton 2-1 at the Etihad.
It wasn’t a classic Pep Guardiola setup, but his five at the back formation paid off as Manchester City managed a 2-1 win at home against Carlo Ancelotti and Everton for the first win of the New Year.
Along with natural midfielders Rodri and Fernandinho, 18-year old Eric García performed well in central defense once again in his second consecutive league start and second straight win for the Citizens. Fullbacks Benjamin Mendy and João Cancelo, who has been the subject of recent links to Bayern and former club Valencia, tucked in and provided City more stability at the back.
In midfield, Phil Foden was given the start and once again played well, but the real star of the evening was Gabriel Jesus, who scored a brace within seven minutes of each other to give City the result. After curling in a brilliant through ball from İlkay Gündoğan, Riyad Mahrez found the Brazilian who scored at the near post for his second of the day.
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Foden had an early goal ruled out by VAR due to an apparent offside in the buildup, which appeared to be the correct decision.
A kicking error from backup goalkeeper Claudio Bravo set up a Richarlison goal that would get Everton back into the match, but City were able to professionally see out the result from that point.
In a matchup of some of this generation’s greatest managers, Guardiola bested Ancelotti as Manchester City got the perfect start to the New Year with the three points.