by James Nalton
at Eastlands

MANCHESTER CITY were able to ease to victory against Everton on an autumnal Sunday afternoon in Eastlands thanks to two standout moments either side of half time.

Raheem Sterling started from the right wing but found himself in an ideal position through the middle to open the scoring a minute before the break, before Rodri doubled the lead 10 minutes after the interval.

Bernardo Silva's goal with five minutes remaining, scored after a shot from impressive 19-year-old Cole Palmer deflected into his path, gave the hosts a three-goal margin which reflected their dominance.

Everton set up to defend as expected but showed very little on the occasions they did win the ball.

The four shots they had on the opposition goal were mere token gestures and City goalkeeper Ederson was never worried. 

Nevertheless, Rafa Benitez’s side continued to defend, if not always well, and it took two moments of magic for City to get the goals to win the game.

The first came in the form of an exquisite outside of the boot pass from Joao Cancelo, steered into the path of Sterling who took the chance well with a first-time finish.

The second was more straightforward but nevertheless impressive as Rodri approached an Everton half-clearance from deep, blasting it past Jordan Pickford from 30 yards out.

The way Everton set up to prioritise defence was not an unfamiliar sight from teams who visit the Etihad, but the majority of these teams usually have a more obvious threat or an outlet in attack, whether that be a pacy forward or a target-man who can relieve pressure. Everton had neither.

Young winger Anthony Gordon put a shift in and played much of the game with a knock after a first-half coming together with Phil Foden, but he was often running up dead ends with no options.

Alex Iwobi came on for the injured Demarai Gray and found himself in some good positions but couldn’t make anything of them. Richarlison cut a frustrated figure through the middle and was ineffective as a target-man.

The away end emptied when Bernardo added a third, and you couldn’t have blamed the Everton fans had they left earlier.