Everton 1-3 Manchester City: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | Premier League 2019/20
Manchester City got the better of Everton 3-1 in an entertaining encounter at Goodison Park.
The visitors raced off the blocks and applied immediate pressure on the hosts’ defence and midfield. However, they had to wait until the 24th minute to get on the score-sheet.
Gabriel Jesus did so after he headed in Kevin de Bruyne’s delicious delivery from the right-sided channel.
Nine minutes later, Dominic Calvert-Lewin drew parity when he prodded Seamus Coleman’s attempted dink over the line.
In the second half, City tried to dominate the ball and they nudged ahead courtesy a magnificent Riyad Mahrez free-kick.
Seven minutes later, Raheem Sterling got in on the act and finished the game off as a contest.
Here is a look at the talking points from the game:
#5 Seamus Coleman raises the Goodison roof in the first half
Everton and Manchester City arrived at Goodison on the back of contrasting league fortunes. While the Toffees had lost two on the spin, the Cityzens had stuck 8 goals past Watford a week prior. Thus, all signs pointed towards another rout for the defending champions.
And, for the opening 20 minutes of the first half, that particular trend was quite evident as the visitors incessantly kept banging at the Everton defensive door.
Subsequently, the Cityzens barged through in the 24th minute when de Bruyne’s sumptuous cross was nodded home by Jesus.
At that juncture, several around Goodison felt that the defending champions would only go from strength to strength, meaning that Everton faced a daunting task in the remainder of the match.
However, rather than retreating into their shell, the Toffees came out blazing after the concession of the opener, thereby putting City under strife.
The hosts started moving the ball a lot quicker and were a lot more adventurous in possession. Their midfielders looked for forward passes rather than square passes and in the process, posed an entirely new set of questions to the visitors.
Everton’s perseverance paid off when the ball broke kindly to Coleman on the right channel inside the penalty area. The full-back got his head up and sublimely chipped the onrushing goalkeeper.
Though Calvert-Lewin ultimately poked the ball over the line, the goal belonged to the Everton defender, who was rewarded for his bravery.
Thus, in a matter of minutes, the Toffees had transformed a dreary and dull Goodison into something more vibrant. Thereafter, each tackle was greeted with massive cheers while the players also seemed to possess the wind in their sails.
Consequently, City found it tougher to impose themselves on the game and were reduced to speculative efforts from distance in the rest of the half.
Over the years, Goodison Park has developed a reputation of being quite a moody ground, wherein the spectators get into the game marvellously when Everton has gotten the bit between its teeth but has also been guilty of providing moans and groans when things start getting pear-shaped.
On Saturday too, both those aspects came to the fore, especially in the first half. And, that, just summed up Everton’s patchy start to the season.
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