Erling Haaland brace gives Manchester City 2-0 win vs Everton | OneFootball

Highlights

Manchester City have beaten Everton 2-0 in the Premier League, with Erling Haaland bagging both goals of the game. It was a largely frustrating performance for the home team but the Norwegian's goalscoring instinct was enough to see them secure all three points.

Haaland delivers second-half goods

First goals in 77 days

Beyond a pause in play for Ederson, who was able to carry on despite a nasty collision with Ben Godfrey, the first half went past without any real incident. Sean Dyche certainly would have been the happier of the two managers going in at the break.

Pep Guardiola certainly cut a frustrated figure on the sideline for the most part and it took until 70 minutes before City even had their first shot on goal. Fortunately, that opportunity fell to Haaland who smashed the ball into the back of the net on his weaker right foot. Despite missing nine games over the past few months, due to a stress reaction of the bone, that was his 20th goal of the season but his first Premier League strike in 77 days.

The City striker then grabbed another with five minutes left on the clock. Keven De Bruyne played a fine ball perfectly into Haaland as they hit Everton on the counter. The 23-year-old still had a lot of work to do but he made light work of it.

He charged forward and went shoulder-to-shoulder with Jarrad Branthwaite. There was only one winner, though, as Haaland flattened the Everton defender before cooly finishing past Jordan Pickford.

City move top of the league

Liverpool drop momentarily to second

Coming into the match, Man City were on a nine-game winning run in all competitions, lifting the Club World Cup in this period. The last time they'd dropped points was against Crystal Palace in the league on 16 December.

Life for Everton, on the other hand, has been a little bit more difficult of late. Although they salvaged a late point against Tottenham Hotspur at home last time out, they hadn't won in the league since their trip to Burnley which also happened to be on 16 December.

This meant the Toffees arrived at the Etihad inside the relegation zone, one point from safety despite having played one game more than Luton Town above them. Beyond their poor form, their position in the league is due to the 10-point deduction picked up earlier on in the season after breaching Premier League rules on Profit and Sustainability.

Of course, Man City – who started the day second in the league, two points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, also have their own concerns off the pitch. Indeed, having been charged with 115 breaches of Financial Fair Play, trials will finally begin in Autumn 2024.

Back on the pitch, though, Guardiola will be delighted with his team's win – even if the performance left something to be desired. This was his team's tenth win in a row and it now takes them to the very top of the Premier League, although Liverpool can go back top later if they get a win against Burnley.