Erling Haaland Makes More History as Manchester City Dominate Everton

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room – Manchester City were without Rodri, their defensive midfielder who tore his hamstring against Brentford two weeks ago. You’d think this might slow down Pep Guardiola’s well-oiled machine, but honestly? They barely missed a beat.

The Citizens controlled the game from start to finish, creating chance after chance while Everton looked like they were playing with a man down (even though they weren’t). Phil Foden was pulling strings in midfield, Jérémy Doku and Tijjani Reijnders were threading passes like they were playing FIFA on easy mode, and the defense, marshaled by Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, kept things tidy at the back.

Everton’s Missed Opportunities Come Back to Haunt Them

Here’s the thing about playing Manchester City – you get maybe one or two chances, and you absolutely have to take them. Everton learned this lesson the hard way on Saturday.

The Toffees actually had some decent opportunities in the first half. Ilman Ndiaye looked dangerous on a couple of occasions, creating chances and testing the City defense. But when push came to shove, they couldn’t find the back of the net. Beto had a golden opportunity when Ndiaye played him through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but the Portuguese striker fired wide. Sure, the offside flag went up, but that’s the kind of chance you have to bury against a team like City.

Even more frustrating for Everton was when Ndiaye capitalized on a rare mistake from Nathan Ake and squared the ball for Beto, who connected but hit the post. So close, yet so far. Against a team with Haaland in their ranks, those missed chances become mountainous regrets.

The Bigger Picture for Both Teams

This scoreline so far keeps Manchester City purring along in the Premier League, with Haaland continuing his absolutely bonkers scoring streak. Twenty goals in eleven games? That’s not human – that’s video game numbers. The Norwegian has turned goal-scoring into an art form, and frankly, it’s getting a bit ridiculous how easy he makes it look.

For Everton, they still have time to get something out of this game. They haven’t played badly, created some chances, and kept it competitive for large stretches. But when you’re facing a team with this much quality – and a striker who seems to score goals for fun – marginal gains simply aren’t enough.

The substitutions told the story too. City brought on Oscar Bobb and Bernardo Silva for Doku and Reijnders, basically swapping quality for more quality. Meanwhile, Everton were left wondering what might have been if those first-half chances had found their mark.

Despite that, they have a chance to reduce the deficit and create a nervy finish like they did against Liverpool a few weeks ago. They lost the game 2-1 despite showing bravery until the end.