Man City player ratings v Everton: Three score 7/10 but one given 4/10 in 2-0 win - gallery

Manchester City came through a frustrating afternoon to earn a 2-0 win over Everton at the Etihad on Saturday.

After some stellar attacking displays from City in recent weeks, this was anything but as Pep Guardiola's side struggled to find openings against a well-organised and dogged Everton outfit. But, as is so often the case, Erling Haaland came up with the game's decisive moments and he netted two second-half goals to hand City a vital three points.

Guardiola made four changes and surprisingly selected a starting XI with four centre-backs in John Stones, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake. It didn’t quite have the desired effect though, with City dominating possession but failing to create significant chances.

Everton’s robust defending didn’t make things any easier, with the visitors' rigid 4-4-1-1 proving a tough nut to crack for a side who had scored 15 in five prior to Saturday. An agitated Guardiola routinely barked instructions at his players in a first-half showing that lacked rhythm and penetration. Meanwhile, Sean Dyche, taking charge of his 300th Premier League match, watched on from the stands alongside Gareth Southgate, due to his one-game suspension after a third booking of the season last week.

The best chance of an underwhelming first 45 minutes came when Jeremy Doku skipped past Ben Godfrey and hung the ball up towards the back post. Haaland rose highest and connected with the cross, but his header flew over the bar. Other than that, City were limited to half chances, with Phil Foden, Matheus Nunes and Ake seeing efforts blocked.

Akanji went close in first-half injury-time when his goal-bound effort was blocked by James Tarkowski, and after a brief VAR check, the handball claim was cleared.

For City, it was the first time since August 2022 that they’ve failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a home game, and after a similar start to the second period, Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne were summoned from the bench. It was the latter who provided the drive and incision needed for City to find a breakthrough. De Brunye’s threatening passes in behind and extra energy didn’t result in the opener, but it was the catalyst that inspired the champions to another victory.

City managed to find the vital opener with their first shot on target of the afternoon, as Dias connected with a Julian Alvarez corner and, after the ball pinged around the box, it was fired home viciously by the right boot of Haaland. The striker seemed to vent some of his anger with that powerful striker, but his second 14 minutes later was all down to Norwegian’s composure and poise.

Haaland latched onto De Bruyne’s through ball, shrugged off the challenge of Jarrad Branthwaite, before coolly setting Jordan Pickford down and stroking the ball past the Everton keeper.

From then on, the uncomfortable afternoon petered into a relatively mundane affair as City kept the ball without really looking for a third. Foden did test Pickford in injury-time - just the third shot on target for the hosts - while De Bruyne landed the ball on the roof of the goal with the final kick of the contest. As for Everton, the only threat came from Beto, who managed to squeeze the ball into the back of the goal but was duly flagged offside.

For City, the win sees them move top, at least for a few hours until Liverpool face Burnley. Here's how we rated the players...