Foden pounces on error to give Manchester City win at Everton

Pep Guardiola may be indelibly associated with the beautiful game but Manchester City’s celebrations showed the value of one of their ugliest goals. They have had more emphatic wins but, should they retain their Premier League crown, the eventual verdict may be that few were more significant than this. With 10 minutes to go and Everton looking unbending in their resistance, the momentum seemed to be swinging towards Merseyside, and Liverpool, in the title race. Then Phil Foden pounced and City’s lead stretched back to six points.

“Really important,” said Guardiola, the purist who has come to cherish hard-fought 1-0 victories. This came in a fashion Frank Lampard called “a little freakish.” It arrived courtesy of a misdirected cross, from Bernardo Silva, and stray touches from each of Everton’s hitherto defiant central-defensive duo. Mason Holgate deflected it to Michael Keane, whose wild slice only resulted in the ball falling for the predatory Foden to tap in.

It was a reward for Foden, the brightest of the City attackers as Everton had packed the area around the penalty box to try and crowd them out, and for Guardiola, who had just shifted Silva to the left of midfield, his third role of the night, in a quest to give him the chance to exert a decisive influence. Lampard’s one-word verdict, however, was “cruel.”

Everton could be in the relegation zone by the time they play again but they were buoyed by an obduracy that may bode well against lesser opponents. “I am very proud and on reflection we will look back and think ‘what a performance,’” Lampard said. While they are accustomed to losing to City — this was a ninth successive defeat to them — they nevertheless departed with a sense of grievance and not merely because they were agonisingly close to a point that would have elevated them above Leeds.

Play had barely restarted after Foden’s goal when the ball bounced up on to Rodri’s arm. Referee Paul Tierney initially waved play on but as the VAR, Christopher Kavanagh, reviewed the incident, Richarlison was so convinced of the forthcoming decision that he took up station on the penalty spot. Others were similarly sure. “I was just praying,” Foden admitted. He was relieved with the outcome, which Guardiola felt may have been because Richarlison was offside. Everton were outraged. “I have a three-year-old daughter at home who could tell you that was a penalty,” countered Lampard. “I will wait for the statement or apology but it will mean nothing. We have lost a point because of a professional who can’t do his job right. It is incompetence at best. At worst, who knows?” His views may attract the interest of the FA but seemed shared by his backroom staff. Everton’s protests after the final whistle earned Ashley Cole a yellow card.

But he and Lampard had shown evidence of their organisational prowess. They had bolstered the midfield with a fit-again Abdoulaye Doucouré and switched to 4-3-3, a third formation of Lampard’s five-game reign. Allan had shaped up as the midfield’s dominant force, snapping at City’s heels, ensuring they were stifled to such an extent that it took 29 minutes for their first shot to arrive, and Jordan Pickford safely fielded Kevin De Bruyne’s long-range effort. “I think we deserved something,” Lampard added. “The first half was immense from us.”

Pickford was busier in the second and excelled to preserve parity for as long as he did. He had parried a drive from Foden, who was fed by Silva, with an incisive pass from the right wing, his second position. Gareth Southgate witnessed a terrific double save from De Bruyne and Silva. Foden reprieved Everton by heading over from the Belgian’s cross. “The second half was much better,” said Guardiola.

Everton had the more threat in the first, a counterattacking menace from a homegrown duo on their left. A few of their fans celebrated when Jonjoe Kenny was found by Allan, but he had rifled his shot into the side-netting. An Anthony Gordon free kick nestled on the roof of the net. The winger illustrated why this has been a breakthrough season for him by showing the fearlessness to run at City. Everton’s belief almost earned them a point but, with their lowest points total at this stage since 1930, Lampard is trying other strategies to survive. “Don’t look too much at the table for the next few weeks,” he said.