Pep keeping calm after City crunch the Toffees
everton 1 Bolasie (63)
manchester city 3
Sane (4), Jesus (12), Sterling (37)
It’s on! Ice the champagne. Get the banners ready. Print the T-shirts. Manchester City can win the Premier League next Saturday.
Not only that, they can do it by beating neighbours United at the Etihad Stadium. Nothing could be sweeter for Pep Guardiola and his team.
Not that the Catalan is getting over-excited. He has the small matter of a Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool to negotiate first.
“We have one game to win the League,” he said. “If we are not able to win next week, we have six more chances.
“To the fans it is significant who we play. It’s special. But it is important we win – no matter where.
“I understand people are going to talk about United, but now all the decisions are about Liverpool on Wednesday and we have to go to Anfield with good feelings after this.
“It was the first time as a manager I was able to beat Everton.
“I’m told that their fans applauded us at the end. Maybe because we are going to play against Liverpool!
“But thank you so much. They give credit to what the players have done.”
City had the game won long before halftime. In fact, it was probably settled in the first 12 minutes when Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus engineered a two-goal lead.
If it wasn’t over then, it certainly was when Raheem Sterling scored the third seven minutes from the break.
Not only did Everton not have any answer, it didn’t even look as if they knew what the question was. Sam Allardyce was once accused of getting his teams to play Victorian football. Compared with the Guardiola version of the game, this was more like something from the Stone Age.
At the interval City had registered 82% possession – in an away game!
As Everton had inflicted the heaviest League defeat of Guardiola’s entire career when they beat City 4-0 last season, it was a sensational response from the Catalan.
Considering their next two fixtures it’s hardly a surprise they took their foot off Everton’s throat in the second period.
That allowed Everton to get a goal back through Bolasie just after the hour mark.
It took just four minutes for City to tee up next week’s Mancunian showdown.
Centre-back Aymeric Laporte, playing as an emergency left-back, found David Silva in the Everton box and his acrobatic pinpoint cross was volleyed brilliantly past Jordan Pickford by Sane. Bolasie should have equalised for Everton seven minutes later, but headed over from close range after Dominic Calvert-lewin pulled the ball back from the bye-line.
It was to prove an expensive miss as, 30 seconds later, City had their second, a bullet header from Jesus from a cross by Kevin De Bruyne.
Silva and Raheem Sterling combined for the third after 37 minutes, with Silva sprinting clear down the left and Sterling ramming in from close range.
Everton got their consolation in the 62nd minute when Bolasie picked up a pass from Calvert-lewin and drilled a shot through Kyle Walker and in off the foot of a post.
Allardyce was realistic afterwards, saying: “You have to admire a team that is too good for you, as they were in the first half.
“As much as the lads tried, we couldn’t cope. “The second half was about making sure we didn’t get beaten by more and to at least get a goal. I’m pleased we didn’t fold and made ourselves respectable.
“They’re far too good for everyone this season. Only the Manchester United team I faced in my Bolton days and probably Arsenal have come close.”