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Gabriel Jesus shoots Manchester City back to the top of the Premier League after home win against Everton

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MAN CITY 3, EVERTON 1

As one observer succinctly observed, Manchester City hardly moved out of second gear in defeating Everton at the Etihad to move back to the top of the Premier League.

City weren’t unduly stretched against Everton who had become something of a bogey side in recent years – before this game they had beaten the Toffees twice in seven league and cup matches.

Pep Guardiola had also failed to beat Everton in both home games since he became City manager.

City’s victory, courtesy of two goals from Gabriel Jesus and one from Raheem Sterling, addressed that statistic.

Everton, with only one win in their last six games, posed more of a threat than most visiting teams as they created some excellent chances.

But their Achilles heel was their defending that was decidedly poor as they allowed Jesus and Sterling, two of the smallest players on the field, to score with close-range headers.

It was satisfying for City, however, as they responded to the defeat at Chelsea last Saturday with two emphatic victories against Hoffenheim in the Champions League and Everton.

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City’s manager said: “It was a tricky, dangerous game coming three days after the Hoffenheim game.

“It was not over until the end and the players were incredible human beings to win the game.”

Guardiola explained why he was so animated early in the game.

“Of course we can improve. The space was there to attack more, but we did not find them today,” he explained.

City’s manager had praise for Sterling in the wake of the furore of him being racially abused at Chelsea.

He said: “I have seen him so calm. He has handled the last years when there has been so many rumours and not nice things said about him, his family, the colour of his skin.

“I admire him because it has not been easy for him, but his big love is playing football, the players, locker room and his mates.”

Everton manager Marco Silva admitted City deserved to win but rued the chances his side missed.

“Richarlison had a big, big chance when it was goalless. We had chances to score more goals and we have to score and may be it would have been a different score.”

City made four changes from the sides that started again in midweek in the Champions League.

Kyle Walker, Fabian Delph, Fernandinho and Riyad Mahrez won recalls at the expense of John Stones, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Sterling and Phil Foden.

More significant, however, was the presence of Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench on their returns from injury.

Everton made two changes as Kurt Zouma and Dominic Calvert-Lewin replaced midfield anchorman Idrissa Gueye and Theo Walcott.

It was clear from the start this would be no walk in the park for City as Everton’s high-pressing game denied them the time to dictate and dominate as they usually do.

Everton ought to have taken the lead after quarter of an hour when Richarlison disappointingly volleyed over from seven yard when he should have converted a left-wing cross from Lucas Digne.

City eventually got into their stride and almost took the lead when Everton defender Michael Keane almost scored an own goal as he diverted an Ilkay Gundogan cross, but keeper Jordan Pickford pulled off a superb save.

It was only a temporary reprieve as City made a 22nd minute breakthrough after a poor defensive clearance.

Gundogan and Leroy Sane set up Jesus who slotted a low shot past Pickford for his sixth goal of the season and first in the Premier League for four months and 12 appearances.

City almost doubled their lead after 40 minutes when Mahrez’s shot forced a fine save from Pickford.

A second goal came five minutes after the restart when Jesus found the net again, this time with a free header from seven yards into the roof of the net from Sane’s cross.

Jesus had a chance to complete his hat-trick, but fired narrowly wide at the near post.

Everton halved the deficit midway through the second half after a poor clearance clearance from Nicolas Otamendi.

Lucas Digne crossed from the left and Calvert-Lewin headed home from six yards.

City brought on Sterling for Sane and within four minutes he found the net to restore the two-goal advantage.

A delightful inter-change of passes between Jesus and Fernandinho set up the goal with the latter’s cross headed home by Sterling from inside six-yard box.

Everton had two gilt-edged chances to reduce the deficit when Richarlison shot narrowly over from the edge of the box and Walcott had an effort deflected over the bar.

De Bruyne made his comeback with 15 minutes left when he replaced Mahrez.

Everton had other great chances as Calvert-Lewin’s cheeky back heel forced a decent diving save from Ederson and Richarlison’s shot deflected for a corner as Everton remained a threat.

Manchester City 3, Everton 1 – Player Ratings

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Manchester City overcame a slow start in freezing conditions to beat Everton 3-1 with a brace of Gabriel Jesus goals and a Raheem Sterling header. 

Everton had their chances and converted one through Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header to give the visitors hope but in truth they were undone by poor defending.

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City made four changes from the side that beat Hoffenheim on Wednesday. Kyle Walker, Fabian Delph, Riyad Mahrez and Fernandinho returned to the starting lineup while John Stones, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Raheem Sterling, and Phil Foden joined fit-again Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne on a formidable bench.

City were pressed high by Everton in the early stages with Bernard lively and thought they had the first chance when Gylfi Sigurdsson found Dominic Calvert-Lewin for a shot but the youngster was wrongly deemed offside after Ederson had tipped his shot away.

Richarlison volleyed over from Lucas Digne’s cross from the byline after 15 minutes in a start which seemed to anger City boss Pep Guardiola.

City had offered little aside from some half chances for Leroy Sane and Fernandinho.

After 21 minutes Jesus was denied by Michael Keane as he tried to get on the end of Gundogan’s cross from the left.

Keane diverted it away from Jesus and Pickford made the save but couldn’t prevent City from taking the lead a minute later when Yerry Mina’s clearance went straight to Gundogan.

Gundogan picked out Sane who slide the ball through for Jesus who was grateful to score only his 6th goal of the season – and only his second Premier League goal in 4 months – from 6 yards out. 

City took control of the game but didn’t muster much impetus except for a brace of blocked shots by Gundogan and Mahrez.

Mahrez slipped in Jesus whose goal was immediately chalked off for offside just before the break.

Jesus scored again shortly after the break, converting a Sane cross from the left on 50 minutes.

Everton were back into the game after a lapse of concentration by City in the 65th minute saw Nicola Otamendi’s poor clearance fall to Lucas Digne who crossed for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to head Everton back into the game.

City restored their 2 goal cushion four minutes later when Fernandinho crossed for Raheem Sterling to head home from 6 yards.

Everton were not out of it though, and Richarlison fired over after exchanging passes with Ademola Lookman while Walcott also blazed over after capitalising over defensive weakness on City’s right flank. 

Kevin De Bruyne made a long awaited return from injury to big cheers after 75 minutes for Riyad Mahrez and tested his range with some probing passes forward.

But it was Calvert-Lewin who almost overshadowed the Belgian’s return with a superb flying backheel after meeting Theo Walcott’s cross from the right while Richarlison’s shot was blocked by Otamendi.

Mina hadn’t had a good game and reacted badly when picked up by Ederson after Everton had wasted another chance to score for the visitors who piled on the pressure late.

PLAYER RATINGS – Manchester City 3, Everton 1

Ederson: 7. Early action for City’s Brazilian meant he could keep warm.

Kyle Walker: 6. Misplaced passes going forward. Everton did better attacking his flank than Delph’s.

Nicolas Otamendi: 6. Lunging for some early tackles as Everton pressed high. Caught out of position for Everton’s goal – his poor clearance fell to Lucas Digne who crossed for Dominc Calvert-Lewin’s goal.

Aymeric Laporte: 7. Getting used to Premier League battles. Took a clattering in the second half but carried on – went down at full time too.

Fabian Delph: 6. Quiet start, hit a shot over the bar. Couldn’t stop Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring and the pair were booked for tussling late in the game.

Fernandinho: 8. City have missed his distribution but he got forward too and troubled the Everton defence as well.

Ilkay Gundogan: 8. Quick reactions to start the counter attack for City’s first half goal. Had shots blocked and wasn’t afraid of raiding forwards for closer attempts. 

Bernardo Silva: 6. Hared around getting tackles in and linking up things in midfield.

Riyad Mahrez: 7. Gave Lucas Digne plenty to think about down City’s right flank.

Gabriel Jesus: 8. Always hard working, today he got his reward after getting into the right positions and scoring twice. His confidence levels looked high after a great performance.

Leroy Sane: 8. Slide rule pass for Jesus’ first goal and a superb cross for his second half header. 

Raheem Sterling (for Leroy Sane 66): 7. Scored a fine header after finding plenty of space between Everton’s defence. Kept the pressure up for City.

Kevin De Bruyne (for Riyad Mahrez 75): 6. Getting his passing range back again with 15 minute run-out.

GOALS – Manchester City 3, Everton 1

Man City 1, Everton 0: 22. Gabriel Jesus broke his goalscoring duck after Ilkay Gundogan collected a poor Everton clearance by Yerry Mina and picked out Leroy Sane whose well placed through ball fell nicely for the Brazilian who slotted home from 6 yards out.

Man City 2, Everton 0: 50. Gabriel Jesus scores again, converting Leroy Sane’s left wing cross from 6 yards out with a header after getting in front of Yerry Mina.

Man City 2, Everton 1: 65. Nicolas Otamendi was caught out of position and his clearance fell to Lucas Digne whose subsequent cross found Dominic Calvert-Lewin who rose to meet it ahead of Fabian Delph and beat Ederson.

Man City 3, Everton 1: 69. Gabriel Jesus slid in Fernandinho whose cut back from the left was  headed in by Raheem Sterling from 6 yards out after slipping into the yawning gap between Everton’s defenders.

MATCH STATS – Manchester City 3, Everton 1

Man City: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Delph, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez (De Bruyne 75), Jesus, Sane (Sterling 66)

Man City Subs not used: Muric, Stones, Aguero, Zinchenko, Foden

Booked: Delph 76

Goals: Jesus 22, 50; Sterling 69

Everton: Pickford, Coleman (Lookman 57), Zouma, Keane, Mina, Digne, Gomes, Sigurdsson (Davies 81), Bernard (Walcott 57), Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Everton Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Baines, Tosun, Schneiderlin 

Bookings: Digne 19, Calvert-Lewin 76

Goal: Calvert-Lewin 65

Michael Carrick delivers early Christmas cheer to the children of Stretford

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Michael Carrick has delivered hundreds of football boots to local children near Old Trafford with the help of the Michael Carrick Foundation.

Carrick, now a first team coach at Manchester United after a trophy laden career, launched the Foundation after retiring from football to help children feel safe, valued, and inspired to achieve.

Michael Carrick Foundation - Carrick's Boot Room Campaign
Michael Carrick Foundation – Carrick’s Boot Room Campaign

Over the summer, the Michael Carrick Foundation launched Carrick’s Boot Room, encouraging members of the public to donate their unwanted/outgrown boots with the aim of re distributing them to the children enrolled on his projects.

And they were astounded at the response to the inaugural campaign – with 1023 boots in all sizes donated.

Carrick commented on the response, saying: “We were very humbled by the sheer volume of boots kindly donated by the local community. We collected 1023 boots, in all sizes!

“This means we can reach so many more disadvantaged children in the Manchester area, as it’s essential that inadequate footwear and kit is not a barrier to a child’s participation in sport.

“These ‘new to you’ boots will ensure all the children have the means to fulfil their potential.”

Carrick, along with volunteers from his Foundation, arrived at Stretford Sports Village for a Carrick’s Street Reds project training session to personally hand out the first 73 pairs of boots to excited youngsters.

Carrick’s Street Reds is a programme which operates in twelve targeted locations across Greater Manchester, funded by the Manchester United Foundation and the Michael Carrick Foundation.

The project aims to use the power of football to offer young people positive opportunities and the chance to play, lead and coach in a safe environment.

Jo Cherrett, Chief Operating Officer of Trafford Leisure said: “My team at Trafford Leisure have been delighted to support the work of the Michael Carrick Foundation, enabling and assisting the charity to promote and market the campaign, as well as collecting, storing and cleaning the boots.

“Michael has really engaged and inspired our community.

“Both the Michael Carrick Foundation and Trafford Leisure believe in increasing the long term participation in sport of disadvantaged children, we believe that sport must be accessible to all.”

Manchester City stars bring festive cheer to hundreds of children in hospital across Greater Manchester

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Players from Manchester City’s mens and women’s teams have been spreading the festive cheer to hundreds of youngsters in hospital around Greater Manchester.

Manchester City visit brave youngsters at Wythenshawe Starlight Unit
Manchester City visit brave youngsters at Wythenshawe Starlight Unit

They visited four hospitals in the area, with Pep Guardiola’s team arriving at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital with bundles of presents and hand-made Christmas cards from City’s Academy players.

Men’s team captain Vincent Kompany accompanied his team mate Kevin De Bruyne along with Pep as they surprised more than 400 children.

They invited a group of football mad fans for an extra special treat in the hospital’s Teen Zone.

Ahead of the visit, the players pledged their support to the hospital by committing to fund a Health Measurement Kiosk which will help patients, families and members of staff calculate their heart age free of charge.

Earlier in the week, the women’s team split into groups and headed to The Christie, Francis House and Wythenshawe Starlight Unit to distribute gifts and see first-hand the specialist healthcare services being provided to children in the North West,

Pep Guardiola shares moment with patient at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
Pep Guardiola shares moment with patient at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital

During the visits, players took part in creative art sessions, table tennis tournaments and organised animated foosball games with some of the youngsters. 

Vincent Kompany said: “Whenever I visit the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital I’m blown away by the spirit and bravery of all the youngsters I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

“It’s a difficult time of year to be spending in hospital, but the staff and volunteers do an amazing job and hopefully everyone has enjoyed today.” 

City women’s team captain, Steph Houghton added: “It was a pleasure to take some time out of training to visit the children at the Starlight Unit.

“It was fantastic to see the smiles on their faces and a real honour for the team to be able to give something back to our local community.”

Manchester City’s hospital visits form part of the Club’s wider Christmas campaign where, earlier this month, local elderly residents and their carers were welcomed to City Football Academy for a special Christmas lunch and Club staff spent time volunteering at the Booth Centre, an organisation which provides support to homeless people in Manchester.  

Leroy Sane and Phil Foden star for Manchester City in Champions League win against Hoffenheim

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MAN CITY 2, TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM 1

Leroy Sane showed to the German nation just what they missed by his surprise omission from their World Cup squad.

The winger scored both of City’s goals and terrorised the Hoffenheim defence as City’s victory sealed top spot in Champions League group F.

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Sane produced a stand-out display as City battled from behind as in the opening period they were still suffering a reaction to Saturday’s first loss of the season at Chelsea.

While Sane impressed Pep Guardiola, it was 18-year-old local lad Phil Foden who caught the eye of the City manager even more after he made a rare start.

Guardiola said: “England has a diamond for the future and it was incredible the way he played.

“Few players can play regularly aged 18 and it is not easy for him when we have David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, (Ilkay) Gundogan and Bernardo Silva.
“He looks like a skinny kid, but he plays like a man and is so strong.

“It was not only his quality, but the way he plays, crosses, shoots. He is outstanding.”

Guardiola described it as “incredible” to be in the top 16 teams in Europe given the strength of the group.

“I am happy all four English clubs have won through and it is good for the Premier League. It is an outstanding success as the competition is so demanding,” he said.

Guardiola admitted City’s performance was “flat” at the start as they fell behind.

City’s manager was happy with the response hitting the woodwork twice in the opening half and creating many counter attacks.

“If there was any criticism, we need to be more precise in the future,” he said.

Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann was “proud” of the club’s debut season in the Champions League, even though they finished bottom of their league.

“Three points does not sum up how we played. Our performances have improved over the group stage,” he said.

City made five changes from the side that lost at Chelsea, though David Silva has a muscular injury that Guardiola said could keep him out for “a few weeks”.

And with other players carrying knocks and not risked, Guardiola claimed he had only 15 fit senior players.

Silva was joined on the sidelines by Fernandinho while Kyle Walker, Fabian Delph and Riyad Mahrez were on the bench.

Called up Nicolas Otamendi and Oleksandr Zinchenko in defence, Gundogan and Foden in midfield and Gabriel Jesus up front.

Hoffenheim, without a win in Group H, started brightly and had two early chances that fell to Florian Grillitsch and Andrej Kramaric.

The German side would have taken the lead but for superb save from City keeper Ederson to deny Kramaric whose shot was bending into the top corner of the net.

It was only a temporary reprieve as City conceded a penalty after quarter of a hour when Aymeric Laporte climbed all over Benjamin Hubner.

Kramaric sent Ederson the wrong way from the spot as he scored in a seventh successive game for Hoffenheim.

City were stung into action and had two great chances to equalise in quick succession when Jesus’ header struck an upright and John Stones forced a decent save from keeper Oliver Baumann following Gundogan’s free kick.

City were denied by the frame of the goal for a second time when Hoffenheim’s Brazilian Jolinton headed against his own crossbar from Gundogan’s free kick.

The equaliser came in stoppage time after Jesus was fouled nearly 30 yards from goal and Sane struck a delightful free kick over the defensive wall and beyond the despairing dive of Baumann.

City made a change at the break as John Stones, who had a torrid time at right back, was hauled off and replaced by Walker.

Guardiola’s side was a different proposition in the second period and far more switched on compared to the lack-lustre opening period.

But City contrived to have one of the misses of the season in the 56th minute following a 3 v 1 breakaway.

Raheem Sterling, Sane and Bernardo Silva sprinted clear and after a neat interchange of passes, Silva failed to convert as a defender got back with a great covering block.

Hoffenheim remained a threat and substitute Reiss Nelson, the Arsenal loanee, had a great chance but his shot was kept out by the legs of Ederson.

City took the lead for the first time just after the hour when Sane found the net for a second time after playing a return pass with Sterling and producing some nifty footwork before finding the net.

Guardiola made a second change mid-half when Delph took over from Zinchenko at left back.

Foden almost capped another impressive display with a stunning goal as his volley from Sterling’s cross was superbly tipped over the bar by Baumann.

Sterling missed a sitter with six minutes left contriving to shoot wide from a right-wing cross by Foden.

City made their last change when Bernardo Silva was replaced by Vincent Kompany as they managed the latter stages well when Hoffenheim were pressing for an equaliser.