Manchester City made it a 17th straight win in all competitions against Everton on Wednesday night to move 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League after sealing a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Phil Foden opened City’s account on the night with a deflected effort but Richarlison restored parity from close range for the hosts 5 minutes later.
Riyad Mahrez then put the Citizens back in front with a brilliant strike before Bernardo Silva secured all three points for the runaway Premier League leaders.
The win places Pep Guardiola’s side 10 points above closest title rival Manchester United at the summit while Everton remains in seventh place following a fifth straight home game without a win ahead of facing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
Watch the highlights of the match below
Managers reactions…
Carlo Ancelotti: “It was hard, almost impossible. We were in the game for an hour and we fought.
“When they scored the second goal it was very difficult. They are the best team and we are not at the same level. They don’t have only quality, they are also strong.
“At the moment they are the best team, they have quality, power, belief. It is very difficult to compete with them. It will be a different game against Liverpool. We are on a good run away and we believe more. Liverpool are a fantastic team but in football you never know.
“I think so [we have lost to the champions], it is really difficult to say another name. Manchester City in this moment are in a good move, they have fantastic quality, they have belief, they are strong because we tried to put the game on a strong side but it was difficult against Rodri, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte.
“They are able to play really well with the ball and work hard without it, they do not give you much possibilities to play, the effort of all the players was really high.
“Yerry Mina I don’t think he is going to play (against Liverpool), we have to look at Dominic Calvert-Lewin and prepare well for the next game. It is a great opportunity, we don’t have to have regrets tonight, the regrets were against Fulham. We know how much the next game is important for the supporters and will do all we need to to get the result on Saturday. The derby is a special game and away we have a good run so we hope for this.”
Pep Guardiola: “It was not easy to find the space but we didn’t concede another chance after their goal, We created enough to win by a bigger margin. Goodison is a tough place to come but our mentality is incredible. Another win, and we’re playing to get more. It was a good performance again. We reacted really well to Liverpool scoring at Anfield and we did the same thing today. They’re a really good team.
“If we want to win titles, we’re going to need the entire squad and what pleased me today was the solidarity of the squad even with people like Benjamin [Mendy] in the stands. We have an incredible schedule so we’re going to need everyone. We go into every game trying to get the points and with a good performance. This is what makes me grateful to have these players.
“Winning 10 straight games at the start of the calendar year is nice but next is Arsenal. Tonight we celebrate but tomorrow afternoon we will start to think about Arsenal. It’s better you don’t see the schedule, otherwise you get depressed. But at the same time, it’s a beautiful challenge. We will come back here in a few weeks to try to get to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and we’ve seen how hard it will be. It’s not worth looking at the schedule. Just the next one, and that’s Arsenal.
“It’s all about freshening the mind and the body to go again.”
On Bernardo Silva: “What a player. Everything he does, he does incredibly well. What he did in the second year was unstoppable and now he’s back. He’s a lovely person and as a manager you dream about having players like Bernardo. His mum and dad must be so proud of the son that they have.”
Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)
- Manchester City have won their first 10 top-flight matches in 2021, the longest ever winning run by a team from the start of a calendar year in top-flight history.
- Everton have lost their last six Premier League games against Man City, their worst losing run against an opponent in the competition since losing nine in a row against Man Utd between 1999 and 2004.
- Manchester City haven’t trailed for a single minute in any of their last 16 Premier League games, since a 2-0 reverse at Spurs. The only team with a longer run of games without falling behind in Premier League history is Arsenal between December 1998 and May 1999 (19 in a row).
- Everton have lost three consecutive home league games for the first time since March 2016, while manager Carlo Ancelotti has suffered three in a row for the first time since November 2006 when he was AC Milan manager.
City are running away with it
Congratulations
Runaway league winners ??