(Premier League 2023/2024): Highlights Man City - Everton

Well there is often an expectation that teams will come here, sit deep, form a low block and say to the Blues come and break us down if you can. The reality is that more often than not they find a way but it is probable that the Blues may have to be patient today but at this time of the season and with every single member of the first team squad available it is an ominous sign to the rest that the Blues can go back to the summit with three points. City have just won a throw what is in the possession of Ake, Ake to Alvarez. Alvarez gets away from Idrissa Gueye but then gave it straight to Harrison. Harrison now on towards Young. Young down the right-hand side in towards Calvert-Lewin. Diaz back to Edison. Edison with one foot controls it and then passes it out to Stones. Stones advances quite quickly actually and then plays it across and Foden scampers down the right. Now Foden clips it in towards Nunez. Nunez across the face deflection. Not sure if it was a clipped cross or a clipped shot but either way City win the corner. It's outstanding from City. It's good football all around you know. Great ball by Stones releases Foden. Comes inside. Great run from Nunez. Beautifully weighted pass from Foden. Towards Foden. The right wing position on towards Matias Nunez. Out comes Pickford. Nunez gets pulled. Thought he was getting beyond him but Pickford just about got there. I thought that Nunez was going to get there first anyway. I thought he was going to get the touch around the goalkeeper. It looked that way didn't it? But Everton are attacking. Now McNee around the outside finds a cross. It's too firm and it goes all the way out for a throw. Very few teams who've managed to sweep Everton aside this season. It is normally the odd goal that sees them off or in City's case a very late third and making a two-goal advantage but they do stay in games and Young is coming forward for them now. He's in the right wing position. Ake's tackling him. Young then delivers. It's a good ball and there's a little block and it reaches Harrison and Harrison hits it straight into the Everton supporters but that was a chance. Massive chance. Arsene Young goes great down this right hand side. It comes off Diaz. Breaks the Harrison and he's he's away. Diaz now with 90 seconds of the first half remaining. Diaz finds Rodri. Rodri into the gap for Matias Nunez. Out wide it goes to Stones. Stones drills it in. Takes a deflection. Another City corner. Corner whipped in and Parlon tries to beat it. Everton hook it up into the air. Ake tries to win it back and then Parlon got to put in. Ake does and it breaks and it's blocked. Oh it was a camo handball. I don't think it was. It goes out for a corner just. I was gonna say it might be a goal kick. It is a corner. I'm not sure whether. I don't think it was a handball. Akanji hits it. Well I said I'm on the shoulder. So one of those coming off is Akanji. So Walker comes on for Akanji. Doesn't surprise me after a month out and Walker and De Bruyne on for Matias Nunez and Manuel. So now we've got Foden, De Bruyne, Alvarez and Doku providing the ammunition for Haaland who's put a pretty frustrated figure so far and the noise is terrific. The ball is with Stones. Out wide it goes to Walker. Walker getting towards the final third. Hits in low to Foden. Foden just about held on to it. Slipped. Walker then on to Alvarez. Alvarez lost control of it. Harrison helps it on. City winning that with Rodri. De Bruyne now. City absolutely hemming Everton in. Haaland joins in. Haaland gets hold of it. Wide it goes to Doku. Doku now. Can he find a way through? Finds Haaland. Haaland round the outside. Walker couldn't get to it. Goes out for a corner by McNeil. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant football from both teams. I have to say you know the way Everton set up defensively and anything that goes square they're up on it. On it goes to Ake. Ake comes forward. Darts forward and then leaves it for Doku and on to Rodri. Rodri brings it to Foden on this near side. Foden darting forward. Still with Foden. Wide to Walker. Another corner. Another clearance and another man goes down. Everton seem to have a contagious disease at the moment. Corner count is enormous but what is a fact is that City still haven't had an attempt on target. 20 minutes to go. Alvarez hits the outswinger. Diaz pulls away. It's blocked. City might get it with Haaland. 1-0. Can you believe it? He's not had a single chance today and Haaland who hasn't scored since the end of November scores with his first attempt on target in the match. Everton are furious. I'm not sure what about. Probably that they've done everything right except that. Welcome back big man. What a finish. What a finish. It's like he's absolutely smashed it with his right foot. The ball ricocheted around in the box a little bit. He's just drifted off the back post Ali. The ball bounces out to him. He still has so much to do. That's why he is different from everybody else. He scores goals that he has no right to score. With Mikalenka under lots of pressure. Goes back to Pickford. He'll have to play it. No he doesn't. Goes short to Brantway. Everton trying to come forward. They've done it. Onana. That's really good from Everton. Onana dancing forward and the ball goes forward and Beto's charging through and Beto puts it wide and the flag goes up now. Well we know what happens with VAR. You don't put your flag up till you're absolutely certain. Looked offside to the naked eye and it was. But it was really good play. Good build-up play from Everton. You know City really went for them but they were able to play through the press. City really had to work hard to have this lead. Can they keep their clean sheet intact? Not something they've done with regularity. The ball is in the right wing position with Coleman. On it goes to Harrison. Harrison looking to get beyond the last defender but Ake's there but it breaks for Ake and then he loses it then he wins it back again. Ake now on to De Bruyne. De Bruyne strides forward on to Haaland. Haaland now up against Brantway. Takes on Brantway. Gets the better of Brantway. 2-0 Erling Haaland. Well well well. Like London bosses he hasn't scored since November. He's now got two in the second half and surely now City are back at the top for the Premier League. That's what they can do. Ake did brilliantly. 1-2 tackles. Gives it to that man De Bruyne. He's got two options. He's got Daku and I thought he was going to go Daku but then he plays a beautiful time ball into the path of Haaland. Then he's one-on-one with Brantway but he's been brilliant today but he's just too strong. Brushes him off and then have you got the composure Erling to finish? Of course you do. That's a magnificent centre forward play. He's a difference. Still looking up and he does pop a long ball looking towards the Beto but it's cleared. Ake puts it towards Grealish. Grealish scampers across and he's lost the ball and Everton have got it on the edge of the area and Beto's in the box and he hits it into the net. The flag goes up for offside. So just let's make sure that VAR aren't going to overrule the offside call. No they're not. Beto is well offside. Well offside. Now De Bruyne is through and Haaland's got a tap in. De Bruyne got it wrong and it went over the bar into the top of the net. Pickford was way out of his goal. De Bruyne bent his run. He was well onside and that's how the game concludes. De Bruyne had the chance to make it 3-0. He chipped it over the top of Pickford onto the top of the netting but two has proven to be enough. Make no mistake about it this will feel like a very very pleasing victory. Everton were absolutely outstanding today defensively and so at the end of a very hard-fought game City have beaten Everton by two goals to nil and at least for the next few hours have gone back to the top of the Premier League table. The final score here at the Etihad Stadium is City 2 Everton 0.