Everton started well against Manchester City but were eventually outclassed by the title favourites.
Two goals from Ilkay Gundogan and one from Erling Haaland sealed the victory for the away side, which looked comfortable after eventually taking the lead.
Before then, the Blues had been competitive and even created the best early chance when Mason Holgate was just unable to twist his body around a knock-down from James Tarkowski.
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After a game that played out on the pitch as many had expected, here are a few moments missed and talking points from beyond the headlines.
Pep’s other exchange with an Everton player
The flashpoint on the final whistle was Pep Guardiola’s exchange with Yerry Mina. The Man City boss walked onto the Goodison pitch to complain to the Colombia international about his “unnecessary” behaviour. Guardiola refused to explain what he meant, while Sean Dyche said he had no idea what the issue could have been.
Mina had squabbled with Erling Haaland and Aymeric Laporte during the game but the drama at the end was unexpected. Mina wasn’t the only Everton player approached by Guardiola, who went to Conor Coady in a far more cordial manner. The pair shared a hug and Guardiola was later full of praise for the centre-back, telling reporters: “I know Conor Coady, I’m a big fan and a big admirer of him.”
Abdoulaye Doucoure the cheerleader as Everton press initially succeeds
Everton did start this game well and, while they conceded a lot of possession, they did not allow the away side to create any clear-cut chances before the goal - which came from a sublime piece of skill rather than Jordan Pickford being left exposed.
Before Gundogan’s opener the best chance of the contest had fallen to Holgate, the defender not quite able to contort in time to finish from yards out.
With the game goalless, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was an effective focal point who held the ball up, won set-pieces and chased balls sent into the channels. Just behind him, Abdoulaye Doucoure pressed well, hustling the Man City defenders into nervous moments.
The in-form midfielder was clearly up for the game and rallied an already passionate home crowd with his efforts - turning cheerleader to the surrounding supporters after chasing down Kyle Walker and forcing him to concede a throw-in close to the away side’s corner - creating a promising opportunity from his determination.
Yerry Mina and Erling Haaland get warning after fewer than 90 seconds as Pep fumes on the side
The battle between Mina and Haaland was always going to be fascinating. Haaland had scored when Everton visited the Etihad in December but the point earned by the Blues that day was partly built on being able to prevent him from dominating the game. On that occasion Ben Godfrey got Haaland the angriest he has been in the Premier League as he fought the striker for the full 90 minutes. Haaland, clearly wound up, was lucky to see just a yellow for a shocking lunge on Vitalii Mykolenko and could still have been sent off had he been punished for catching Tarkowski with a flailing arm.
Mina and Haaland immediately picked up where the striker and Godfrey had left things in Manchester and the pair were warned about their mischief within the opening 90 seconds. On another occasion Mina brushed Haaland off the ball as they challenged in the air and, as Haaland complained on the ground, Guardiola remonstrated with the fourth official.
For the first 35 minutes there was only one winner as Haaland was largely anonymous. Unfortunately for Everton, the striker was too good to be kept out of this game and wrote his name onto the scoresheet moments after his side took the lead, drifting between Tarkowski and Holgate to head beyond Pickford on the one occasion Mina was drawn away from him.
Stats don’t tell the full story
Sean Dyche is a big believer in the ‘feel’ of a game. When it comes to judging players and performances he likes to be there, in person, to see the full context in which events play out as he forms his opinions. It is why he likes to scout upcoming opposition in person - an increasingly rare trait among modern managers. He does pay attention to statistics and data, but that is not the full story for him.
It is easy to understand his point when you consider what one of the most prominent stats of the modern game suggests about this one. The precise xG - ‘expected goals’ for each side based on the chances created - ratio differs between analyst sites for Everton against Man City but they all give Everton a substantially higher xG than the away side. Put simply, according to the stats Everton should have scored more goals than the side that beat them 3-0. Of all the chances, Holgate’s back-post opportunity when the game was goalless had the highest chance of being converted.
New Everton 'coach' emerges in training
Coady is doing his coaching badges and is currently completing his UEFA B Licence. “I’m really enjoying it, I’ve caught the bug for it massively,” he recently said, adding: “Playing football is my life and I don’t know what I’d do without football. Having the chance to do this... is really good.”
Coady remains part of the first team step up and was brought onto the pitch in the second half against Man City - his first minutes under Dyche since the defeat to Aston Villa in February. But at the start of the match he was once again leading defensive drills, dribbling at the starting defenders and testing their shape by feeding them balls in the air to deal with.
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