Manchester City 2 Everton 1 : Player Ratings and Man of the Match

Manchester City beat a hard working Everton side thanks to two goals from Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus.

There were moments during the game against Everton where Manchester City struggled to break down a solid and industrious opponent. As the ball was passed relentlessly across the backline, it seemed as though the goal may not come, and we may have had to endure a goal less draw.

The electronic banners around the Etihad Stadium taunted us, saying we had never won 5 games in a row against Everton, that in the previous 42 games between the two sides, the average goals scored were 2.42. And the minutes seemed to dwindle away.

Riyad Mahrez continued his personal resurgence and threatened the goal on a number of occasions, but each time he was clean through he seemed to fluff his lines;hitting wide and placing his shot safely into the hands of Jordan Pickford. Incidentally, Pickford seems to have a very high opinion of himself, outstripping his talent by some considerable distance.

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The goals eventually came in quick succession in the second half, and both occurred when City suddenly moved the ball much quicker. A combination of passes between De Bruyne and Foden released Jesus, on the edge of the box with much work to do. Taking a step for half a yard of space, he curled his shot past the keeper into the top corner. A lovely goal.

The second arose when Ilkay Gundogan bent a pass through the defence for Jesus to run onto, firing low and into the corner. Jesus was unlucky not to secure his hat trick, hitting the post.

City even gave the opposition a goal, just to make the last 10 minutes more thrilling. A customary mistake at the back – this time from Claudio Bravo – allowed Everton to believe they had a chance.

We look back at the individual performances and try to select a Man of the Match. We start by looking at the defensive unit.