Haaland’s five-minute blitz breaks Everton’s resolve at the Etihad

Manchester City needed patience and Erling Haaland’s inevitability to see off an adventurous Everton, the Norwegian striking twice on 58 and 63 minutes to seal a 2-0 victory. After a first hour in which David Moyes’ side created the clearer moments, the champions-in-waiting shifted up a gear and let their No 9 decide it.

Haaland, fresh from a hat-trick for Norway during the international break, had been subdued before he powered in a Nico O’Reilly cross and then swept home from a Savinho cut-back that nicked off James Tarkowski. Jordan Pickford denied the striker a late treble, but City’s win extended their unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions and underlined why, even short of their most fluent rhythm, they remain daunting.

Everton set the terms early as Ndiaye tests City’s poise

Everton arrived buoyed by a last-gasp win over Crystal Palace and played with that confidence. When Nathan Aké passed out into trouble, Iliman Ndiaye pounced, gliding forward and squaring across the six-yard box; Beto was inches from turning it in with Gianluigi Donnarumma stranded. The Senegal international, who scored here last season, repeatedly unsettled City’s back line.

Ndiaye’s finest first-half moment was a weaving run crowned by a thunderous strike that Donnarumma tipped over. City’s response was intermittent: Savinho scuffed at Pickford from close range before the England goalkeeper batted away another effort, and a Foden corner brought panic when Jake O’Brien thundered a header against his own crossbar. For long spells it was Everton who looked the likelier side to land the first blow.

Five ruthless minutes from Haaland turn the game

City found a quicker route to Haaland after the interval. Phil Foden fed O’Reilly down the left, the full-back surged and measured a cross; Haaland rose with muscular certainty and thumped a header beyond Pickford for 1-0 on 58 minutes. It was his first genuine chance—and it went the only way it tends to with him.

Just five minutes later, the same left channel cut Everton open again. Foden dropped the ball to Savinho, who had switched to the flank from the right, and the Brazilian’s low cut-back—deflecting slightly off Tarkowski—found Haaland. The finish, swept low past Pickford, was simple but surgical, giving the striker his 23rd goal in 13 appearances for club and country this season and his 11th in the league.

Fine margins: penalty shout, big saves, and a hat-trick that wasn’t

Everton nearly fashioned an immediate reply when James Garner’s effort struck the hand of the newly introduced Bernardo Silva. Referee Tony Harrington was unmoved and City breathed out, a pivotal moment with the game at 1-0.

At the other end, Pickford’s interventions kept the score respectable. He had already repelled Jérémy Doku and later stood firm twice in added time when Haaland threatened to complete a hat-trick. The woodwork had rescued Everton earlier via O’Brien’s misdirected header, while Donnarumma’s fingertip stop from Ndiaye underscored that the margins were as thin as the scoreline suggests.

Managers’ verdicts and the wider picture

Pep Guardiola half-joked he was disappointed Haaland did not score “four or five,” before stressing City cannot rely solely on him. He name-checked Savinho, Doku and Tijjani Reijnders as players who must add goals, adding that City “found” Haaland more after the break. Both managers praised Phil Foden’s control, with Guardiola likening his maturation to a good wine.

Moyes quipped he told Haaland he wished the striker had been “somewhere else,” acknowledging his near-unstoppable nature one-v-one. The defeat extends Everton’s winless league run against City to 17 meetings and continues Moyes’ wait for a win over a side who finished in the previous season’s top three. City, meanwhile, keep ticking ominously: unbeaten in eight, and with Haaland scoring against all but one opponent he has faced this season.