Premier League leaders Manchester City beat Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park to go four points clear at the top of the table ahead of second-placed Arsenal thanks to a brace from Ilkay Gundogan and a goal from Erling Haaland.
Manchester City struggled to find their rhythm as it took them over 30 minutes to settle into the match but once they did, everything looked smooth afterwards.
Captain Gundogan pulled off a brilliant piece of individual skill after receiving the ball from Riyad Mahrez, flicking it past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with his back foot to score the goal in the 37th minute.
Two minutes later, Gundogan turned from scorer to provider to set up Haaland who rose the highest on the edge of the six-yard box to thump a header past Pickford with what was only his third touch in the match but it was good enough to double his team’s lead and score his 36th goal of the campaign.
Mason Holgate missed Everton’s best chance of the half when he failed to put the ball at the back of the net from close range and this meant Man City were leading 2-0 by halftime.
After the restart, it took Pep Guardiola’s team only six minutes to get the third goal through their in-form skipper Gundogan, this time with a stunning freekick that went over the Everton wall and straight into the top corner.
The remainder of the match bore some chances from both clubs but none was converted although James Tarkowski came close in the 66th minute. His header though, hit the crossbar.
Manchester City now need just two wins from the remaining three matches to be crowned Premier League champions for the third consecutive time. On the other end, Everton remain 17th one point from the relegation zone.
