I thought it was going to be another one of those days! We totally bossed the opening stages, then had a crazy two minutes littered with mistake after mistake, & against the run of play, we collapse defensively & allow Everton to take the lead.
Thankfully, we kept our heads & ploughed on. Everton were up for it at this point, & we were struggling to match them physically, until after the break in play for Stones' injury.
The break did us a favour, as we stabilised ourselves for the balance of the half, albeit we've now lost John to yet another injury. I noticed his ankle flexing both ways in the challenge & it looked like ligament damage to me. Hope he's back very soon.
We were far better in midfield when Kovacic came on. As I keep saying with Nunes, he just seems to lack that extra something that all the top players have, which was characterised by him missing an open goal early in the match, being robbed of possession, & attempting passes at crucial points which sufficiently failed to find a player.
Walker had a couple of shaky moments, & needs to recover his very best form ASAP.
Jack had another good game. Rodri & Bernardo illuminated the match like a pair of Iberian beacons.
Julian's energy is better suited to being a No 9, who can also drop deep as a creative No 10 & can press, harry & defend from the front. He had my heart in my mouth with his penalty that Pickford got a foot to. For now I'd rather one from Julian or Erling, so we have an extra specialist midfielder playing.
My MoTM has to be Foden. He was absolutely brilliant & showcased several WOW moments & touches as he ripped up the midfield & attack. His goal was brilliantly taken, with a turn of sheer skill & a shot of equal power & accuracy to open our account.
Also, what a brilliantly improvised goal by Bernardo, to seal the deal! He was being fouled by the defender, but managed to hold him off, as he steadied himself & curled an absolute beauty into the far corner, for what was essentially the winner which killed off the spirited Scousers.
We fully deserved the victory, & for big stretches of the match we showed our true Manchester City level. Hopefully our form will continue to improve & we can start pressuring those ahead of us in the league.
Guardiola
It's been a good ten days for the English, European & World Champions. I'm glad Phil said Pep told the squad it's not enough to just be proud of being World Champions, but that we need to start acting & playing like World Champions too!
That's the mindset of a winner who's plotting how to remain at the very top for the foreseeable future, at the club he's spent most of his career at.
I get the rest of Europe wishing that Pep would fuck off & give everyone else a chance, but it seriously pisses me off when City fans whip out their Mystic Meg crystal balls & join in the Baldy leaving predictions.
As things stand Guardiola's showing zero signs of wanting to depart Manchester, so please let's just embrace this football genius as he leads us through Manchester City's golden age. )(
