Foden pounces on error to give Manchester City win at Everton

Manchester City have had more emphatic wins but should they retain their Premier League crown the eventual verdict may be that few were more valuable than this. With 10 minutes to go, stalemate beckoned as Everton looked unbending in their resistance. The momentum seemed to be swinging towards Merseyside, and Liverpool, in the title race. Then Phil Foden pounced on Everton’s one defensive error and City’s lead stretched to six points.

Frank Lampard’s season in the City midfield was the coda to 13 years at Chelsea and during a brief managerial career he had already shown a defiance towards former employers. City’s defeat to his Chelsea in June 2020 ended their reign as champions, something the red half of Merseyside savoured. As Everton began hovering perilously above the relegation zone, their obduracy stemmed from necessity. While there were hints of urgency, with Goodison roused when Everton snapped into challenges, they were otherwise content to let City have possession.

Everton had numbers behind the ball. Deprived of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has a calf injury, Lampard recalled a fit-again Abdoulaye Doucouré to bolster his midfield but his choice of 4-3-3 meant he has started with three formations in his five-match reign.

The latest at least promised solidity. Everton began in disciplined fashion, getting bodies around the edge of their area as neither goalkeeper was required for 29 minutes. Then Kevin De Bruyne tried his luck from distance and Jordan Pickford held his shot.

Everton’s counterattacks tended to stem from the direct running of Anthony Gordon, who showed the fearlessness to take on City. Perhaps the winger was encouraged by the sight of a makeshift right-back, with John Stones preferred to Kyle Walker.