Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT’S ROUGH AND READY Guardiola’s men back on top but it’s hardly vintage City as Laporte and Jesus pile the pressure on Liverpool
THE mini fist-pump and almost angry, subdued, celebration as Gabriel Jesus gave the scoreline some late, late gloss said it all.
It was not quite ugly but the win that returned Manchester City to the Premier League’s summit was hardly a thing of beauty.
And Pep Guardiola knew it. He also knew this sort of performance fits one of football’s hoary old clichés – grinding out wins when not playing well is the hallmark of champions.
Liverpool could not do it at the London Stadium on Monday, City did it at Goodison Park last night.
Now the pressure is back on Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp when Bournemouth come to town on Saturday.
And that is what will matter to Guardiola, along with coaxing a more fluent display from his squad when Chelsea visit the Etihad on Sunday.
Perhaps it was down to the unusually subdued atmosphere under the Goodison Park lights but this was a Guardiola team that struggled for intensity.
After a bravura performance against Arsenal on Sunday, it was slightly jarring to see Raheem Sterling only on the bench, although the demotion of Kevin de Bruyne was about managing his body after his interrupted season.
Their absence for most of the game, though, was felt.
It did not stop City dominating possession and territory but their precision in passing was not as surgical as normal. By their rarefied standards, it was all a bit sloppy. It verged, for a Guardiola side, on the slapdash.
There was probably not a first-half pass that Sane did not have to collect on his chest, and David
Silva was curiously indecisive in his distribution.
The champions were hardly a measure of defensive composure even though Everton incursions were hardly frequent. Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones were extended by Dominic Calvert-lewin, and Kyle Walker has not looked anything like his best for some time.
Despite their indifferent recent form – indifferent being generous – this was a juicy chance for Everton to recapture some momentum, which is why the concession just before half-time must have been particularly galling for manager Marco Silva.
Galling but grimly familiar,
coming from a set-piece. Fernandinho drew the foul that is often waiting in Idrissa Gueye, David Silva persuaded the free-kick into the prime danger area and, not for the first time, Aymeric Laporte was in splendid aerial isolation.
This time, his header was precise and telling. It was not exactly cruel for Everton but it was a gift for City.
It did not lighten the mood of an agitated Guardiola, whose withdrawal of Sane just before the hour smacked of sheer frustration. That he barely gave his sullen player a sideways glance betrayed his anxiety.
No wonder.
Every time City got into dangerous areas – and that was often – they seemed to make the wrong decisions.
And although Sergio Aguero hooked one effort narrowly wide, the second, nerve-settling goal never looked inevitable.
It gave Everton the sort of encouragement a disillusioned home fanbase did not expect.
After all, it is not often City go through a contest with just three shots on target. But devoid of any significant confidence, Silva’s side hardly put severe pressure on Ederson and City confirmed the victory when De Bruyne set up fellow substitute Jesus for the second in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Those Guardiola celebrations were understated but he broke into a smile as he headed into the tunnel. He knew this was not brilliant but he knew this was the kind of night that can go a long way towards winning titles.