Manchester City recorded yet another win in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Everton that was settled by an Erling Haaland double.
Erling Haaland made the difference for City in a tight and tense game against Everton
Erling Haaland scored his first goals for Manchester City since November as the Blues beat Everton 2-0 on Saturday.
City made it 10 wins in a row in all competitions and six straight Premier League successes but it was a nervy afternoon at the Etihad in a Saturday lunchtime kick-off that Pep Guardiola had warned against.
The Blues struggled to break the visitors down for large parts of the afternoon but Haaland slammed a home volley with 20 minutes to go and then sealed the win as he raced on to a Kevin De Bruyne through ball late in the game.
Haaland picks his moment
We know by now that Erling Haaland doesn’t need to be heavily involved in the flow of a game to make an impact, but it was difficult to remember a game he was less a part of than this tense affair against Everton.
He sent in one dangerous low cross early in the second half but beyond that just couldn’t get himself into the match, barely threatening at all for three-quarters of the afternoon. But then there is a reason he is so rarely taken off.
Having toiled for 70 minutes he was in the right place at the right time to break the deadlock with an unstoppable right-foot volley. Everton couldn’t clear a corner and the last man they wanted the loose ball to fall to was Haaland. Even with an angle to work against, he made a clean connection and put so much power on the shot that Jordan Pickford getting a hand to it only changed the trajectory at which it hit the net.
It was a vital moment in a game that was threatening to end in frustration for City and it was Haaland’s first goal since November 28. That sniff of goal was back and it didn’t take him long to add another. It was a familiar combo with the through ball from Kevin De Bruyne but Haaland’s power saw him shrug off the previously impressive Jarrad Branthwaite and finish cooly past Pickford.
That the goals briefly took City top of the league felt telling. There might be many more games like this in the final 15 league fixtures of the season, but when you have a striker as clinical as Haaland, he really can make the difference when it starts to get tense. City have stayed in the title race without Haaland, now they can take control of it with him. Liverpool and Arsenal might have missed their chance.
Rodri record
It is now more than a year and 52 games since City last lost a game that Rodri started. For all of Haaland’s goals and De Bruyne’s assists, the Spaniard is arguably the most important figure in the squad.
He’s certainly the one that they struggle most without. De Bruyne and Haaland have missed games this season and City have survived their absences. When Rodri was suspended his absence was painfully obvious.
This was a more routine fixture than many for Rodri but his influence on City is telling and that remarkable record speaks for itself. If he remains fit and free of suspension it’s hard to see how he doesn’t start every game between now and the end of the season.
Guardiola warned on Friday of the dangers of 12:30pm kick-offs on Saturday and on how preparation for such games is vital, but it did feel as if there was a lethargy sweeping across the Etihad at the start of the game.
These Saturday lunchtime fixtures often start slowly and the atmosphere can be flat as well. One can help cause the other but the difficulty of being ready to go for players and fans at this time is obvious.
It was certainly clear against Everton. City played slowly in the first half and the game only got going when Jeremy Doku was in possession, with the Belgian regularly showing Ben Godfrey a clean pair of heels. The rest of the game was played at a tempo that suited Everton and not only did it frustrate Guardiola, but it led to a quieter atmosphere in the first half.
Nunes’ role
There has been a sense that Matheus Nunes has gradually been getting to grips with the City system and although his appearances have still remained relatively rare this was a second Premier League start in three games.
In what at times felt like a complicated set-up he struggled to really make an impact on the game, however. At his best he is the type of midfielder who can take opponents out of the games, running past players with dribbles from deep areas and making those vital third-man runs to stretch defences.
