Manchester City edged closer to securing Champions League football next season as Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic struck late to seal a 2-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
City climbed to fourth with 58 points from 33 matches, four points clear of sixth-place Chelsea and seventh-place Aston Villa, although they have played one more game. The top five finishers qualify for next season’s Champions League.
O’Reilly opened the scoring by tapping in from four meters after meeting Matheus Nunes’ low cross, while Kovacic added a second with a precise strike from the edge of the box to wrap up the win.
It was hard work for City for 85 minutes as they battled to create clear-cut chances, while home defender James Tarkowski struck the post with a header from a corner in the first half. Everton remain 13th with 38 points from 33 games.
There will be relief for City manager Pep Guardiola as his side came up against the fired-up hosts in a hostile atmosphere at Goodison Park, the third-last league game at the famous old ground before Everton move to a new stadium on the banks of the River Mersey.
“We had to work hard,” City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan told the BBC. “This ground is always tough to come and play at, with the way they approach the game.
“We had to be careful. Maybe at the beginning, we didn’t want to risk it too much. We came out in the second half to perform, and we’ve done that in a brilliant way. Definitely deserved to get the three points.”
The home side had their moments, and manager David Moyes can take some positives from the game, but he was left to rue a hamstring injury to Tarkowski that forced the defender off.
“I thought for 60 minutes we were okay, we played well and gave them a good game,” Moyes said. “Tarky (Tarkowski) coming off changes a lot of things in the game.
“Their subs made a difference, and ours didn’t. They took control in the second half.”
Everton came closest in the first half when Tarkowski struck the post with a header from a corner, and Jake O’Brien headed off the line to keep out Kevin De Bruyne’s goal-bound shot.
City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega then made a superb point-blank save to stop Jarrad Branthwaite’s header.
But the visitors tightened their grip on the game in the closing stages, and once O’Reilly opened the scoring, the fight went out of the home side.