by Erling Haaland jumped into the Etihad Stadium to the rhythm of ‘Hey Jude’, a legendary song by ‘The Beatles’, with a face of concentration, but also confidence. As if he knew in advance that, finally, he would be reunited with the goal after his return on January 31 in the victory against Burnley (3-1). The Norwegian once again showed that he does not need to participate too much to score the goal. Practically invisible during the first 70 minutes of the match, he appeared twice to solve an afternoon that was becoming excessively complicated.
Guardiola rested his ‘favourite’, Kevin De Bruyneto give minutes to Matheus Nunes in the double pivot with Rodri and reward Julian Alvarez, who is performing at a spectacular level, to place him behind the Norwegian. The game started with a little scare. Edersonthat he played his physical part to cut a leaked shipment of McNeil inside the area, before which Godfrey He went all out to finish off, colliding with the Brazilian, remained quite sore. After several minutes assisting him, he was able to continue playing.
City, in no hurry, tried to simmer the goal, but the vast majority of the shots were blocked by a very solid defense led by a stellar Branthwaite., which cut off everything that happened around him. The Englishman was in charge of putting out the fire that generated the first major internment of Dokuwho in the 24th minute won the game against ashley youngHe reached the baseline, and put a very dangerous ball into the heart of the area.
FODEN, THE MOST DANGEROUS IN THE FIRST TIME
Foden, despite playing on the right and not in interior areas, was one of City’s most dangerous players with several flashes of quality., serving great filtered balls that translated into the second great chance for Pep’s team. In the 30th minute, he found Nunes behind the defense with a great through ball. But again, Branthwaite put an end to a very dangerous action.
Foden, during the match against Everton /EFE
Everton, for their part, tried to punish City in transition through the lanes, with Mykolenko and ashley young as protagonists, but Rodri, always well placed, shone in anticipation to defuse the ‘Toffees’ attacks.
Dyche’s team, which followed the game from the Etihad stands, managed to reach half-time minimizing much of the damage to the ‘Sky Blues’but I was about to pay dearly for a mistake Tarkowski in ball release in the 45th minute. Julian Alvarezwho rushed to look for Haaland in the pass, gave the ball to Pickford, very attentive.
Akanji, in the 47th minute, had the clearest chance for City when he chased down a loose ball in the area after a corner that was well blocked by the Everton defense.. A possible penalty for handball was reviewed, but the maximum penalty was not indicated.
CHANGES TO THE MATCH TIME
Guardiola stirred up the hornet’s nest at game time. Kevin De Bruyne came on for an imprecise Matheus Nunes and Walker for Akanji, moving Stones to the center of the defense. With the entry of the Belgian, as usual, everything changed.
Haaland celebrates his second goal with Foden and Kevin De Bruyne /EFE
City began to produce set piece situations. She already had a monopoly on possession, but the Belgian helped transform that dominance into danger.. Something that was costing Pep’s team excessively.
ALWAYS HAALAND
And precisely a set piece reached the goal, in the 70th minute. Haaland, who else, showed that he does not need to participate too much to ‘kill’ the rival. The Norwegian caught a loose ball in the Everton area after a corner and with an incontestable volley with his right foot, his less good leg, he shot Pickford from above to open the can and celebrate a goal again. after more than two months without being able to do so due to an injury.
With the match more focused, Guardiola wanted to give minutes to Bernardo Silva, that rested and did not start (He came on in the 76th minute, replacing Julián Álvarez). City dedicated the last stretch of the game to managing the game intelligently. Playing with the score in their favor, Pep’s team continued to dominate the ball, looking for a mistake by Everton, who had the urge to equalize the score.
Haaland, during a City – Everton action in the Premier League /EFE
In the 84th minute, Haaland ended the match with his particular double.. De Bruyne put a nice ball into space with many meters for the Norwegian to once again showcase his powerful running. Initial bet Pickford, as with any goal, zero nerves to define it wonderfully. In the 90’s, Beto would close the gap by taking advantage of an error by Grealish in the midfield, who had just entered the field for Doku, but he did not get on the scoreboard due to a clear offside.
Brooks added 10 minutes of overtime, but little happened. Just a timid shot of Foden from the front that caught well Pickfordin 95′. DeBruyne He was able to close the game at 3-0 with a good chip, but he didn’t find Everton’s goal. Next objective, Copenhagen in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
