Everton 0-3 Manchester City
by James Nalton
at Goodison Park

IT WAS the Ilkay Gundogan show on Merseyside as Manchester City moved a step closer to claiming their third Premier League title in a row, and their fifth in six seasons.

The German was involved in all three of City’s goals, scoring two and assisting another, as they moved four points ahead of Arsenal with three to play, and remain in the hunt for a treble.

There had been plenty at stake for both teams. While City’s victory put the league trophy within their grasp, nil points from this fixture mean Everton are still dangerously close to the relegation zone, especially as Leicester City have a game in hand.

Everton started the game reasonably well, giving their supporters something to get behind. They had to do plenty of defending, as they would have expected, but also posed a threat of their own on the break.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin caused problems for the City centre-backs, and on a rare occasion he found himself ploughing forward on his own with no support from Abdoulaye Doucoure, Alex Iwobi, or Dwight McNeil, he managed to win a free kick which had some Everton fans on their feet cheering.

They were small wins but they kept Everton more than in the game for much of the first half.

It was one littered with corner kicks and Everton’s own best chance came from one such situation.

James Tarkowski headed down a McNeil cross and Mason Holgate was in a good position at the far post but couldn’t rearrange himself enough to produce any kind of effective shot.

Gundogan had no such problem, controlling Riyad Mahrez’s cross perfectly on his thigh before hooking the ball into the net on the turn with the outside of his foot to open the scoring.

City went from posing very little threat to being 2-0 up within the space of a few minutes. Gundogan showed his class again, taking the ball to the byline and delivering a cross with his weaker left foot for Erling Haaland to head home.

Much of the build-up to this game had revolved around Haaland’s goalscoring feats potentially matching those of the Everton goalscoring phenomenon of the 1920s and ’30s, Dixie Dean.

Haaland’s name was much more present in that build-up than it was in the game itself, but as has been a familiar story this season, his first notable contribution was to score.

Gundogan rounded off his own display with an effortless free kick which also ended the game as a contest.

Both teams will be eagerly anticipating where the final matches will take them but for very different reasons.