Key winners & losers as Man City beat Everton to knock Liverpool off top spot

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Manchester City defeated Everton 2-0 to jump above Liverpool to the top of the Premier League.

Prior to the match, the pressure was on City who knew if they beat their opponents, they would go back to the top of the table ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s men.

City dominated the early stages and came close on several occasions but Everton stood firm until the last moment before half-time, when a free kick was crossed into the Everton area, meeting the head of Aymeric Laporte, who buried his header beyond Jordon Pickford.

A tough second half saw City miss a host of half chances with Everton showing signs that they could still nick something as the game went on.

However, with the last touch of the game, substitute Gabriel Jesus netted City’s second that secured the three points and their place at the top of the table.

Here are some of the winners and losers from Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Everton.

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Winner – Aymeric Laporte

The French centre-back has been a major success since joining Manchester City last winter from Athletic Bilbao for a massive £57 million.

At just 24-years old, Laporte has quickly established himself at the heart of Guardiola’s defence with his performances aiding City towards their Premier League title win last season.

This campaign has seen Laporte improve once again, with tonight’s performance the personification of his effectiveness, at both ends of the pitch.

After a first half which seemed to be drifting into goalless scoreline at half time, Laporte rose highest from City’s free-kick – their last opportunity of the half – to smash his header home to give City a vital lead.

City largely looked defensively strong and that was thanks to the great organisation and effortless calm approach that Laporte – who played fantastically at left-back – and his teammates brought to tonight’s proceedings.

Loser – Liverpool & Tottenham

The Reds knew that tonight’s fixture could be vital in their quest to win their first Premier League for 19 years. What made it worse was that they had to rely on their city rivals to do them a favour.

With Liverpool dropping four points from the last two games and with Tottenham Hotspur breathing down the necks of Klopp’s side, it was imperative for the Reds that City dropped points themselves this evening.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side are the ones who still fail to hit people’s lips when they are discussing potential Premier League title winners for this season.

Despite losing the likes to Harry Kane and Dele Alli to injury, two last-minute victories in a row ensured Spurs are just five points behind Liverpool and just two behind City before their clash with Everton this evening.

However, this result does nothing positive for either side with City now in control of their own destiny, even if there is still a long way to go in this title race.

Winner – Gabriel Jesus

The talented striker hasn’t had the greatest season with City this year, with his time in the starting eleven limited due to his lack of goals and the continued expertise of Sergio Aguero.

The 21-year-old struck City’s second goal of the game with the last kick of the match, eventually looping the ball above and beyond Pickford and into the back of the net, sending the away supporters into a relaxed frenzy.

Jesus has now scored four goals since the turn of the year in all competitions and is beginning to look more like the player everyone knows he can be.

Loser – Marco Silva

The Everton manager is a man under pressure at Goodison Park.

Before this evening’s clash with Guardiola’s side, the Toffee’s had won just two games in their last eight outings in all competitions, with the former Watford boss coming under increasing scrutiny from the Everton faithful.

Tonight’s match against City was always going to be a tough 90 minutes for Silva’s side, with their season surely not to be defined by their result against the Citizens.

Despite Everton’s decent performance, it is still another loss to add to the pile for Silva, who will find the next few weeks unbearable if he continues to finish matches empty-handed.

Winner – Social media

It has become common knowledge throughout the football community that the vast majority of neutral football fans are hoping City overtake Liverpool and win the Premier League title this season.

Whether this is because of a dislike of the club, a liking of City or the supposed Liverpool fan persona that has seemingly rubbed enough people up the wrong way, social media is rarely in support of the Reds, especially this season.

City’s victory will only continue to pour more social media spite in the direction of Liverpool, who will now need to dig deep in order to get themselves back to the top of the pile come the end of May.

The post Key winners & losers as Man City beat Everton to knock Liverpool off top spot appeared first on Squawka News.



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