Everton v Man City ratings: Barkley bright; Stones’ nightmare return

Joe Williams
John Stones: Faces the wrath of Roy Keane

John Stones

Tom Davies epitomised Everton’s terrific display in their 4-0 victory over Manchester City, while Kevin Mirallas grabbed a goal and an assist.

EVERTON

JOEL ROBLES: May count himself lucky to get away without conceding a penalty after bringing down Raheem Sterling early on in the first half. Read the situation well to narrow down the angle for David Silva when he was put through on goal. Didn’t have too much to do. 7

MASON HOLGATE: Gave away a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the box in the first-half when he took Sergio Aguero to the floor – luckily for him it came to nothing. No nonsense defending from the youngster. 7

ASHLEY WILLIAMS: Did well to cut out a low cross from Kevin de Bruyne early on with City players lining up behind him. Few sloppy passes but a solid performance in the main. 7

RAMIRO FUNES MORI: Bright and quick into the tackle – didn’t give the City attackers a minute’s peace. 7

SEAMUS COLEMAN: Always an outlet on the right for the Toffees. An energetic performance from the Irishman. 7

TOM DAVIES: Fantastic for Everton’s opening goal. Took control of the ball in midfield before threading it through to Mirallas, who set up Lukaku to score. Superbly headed the ball of the line late in the first half to deny Sagna. Scored an incredible late goal to cap a brilliant display. 9

GARETH BARRY: Went about his business quietly. Very effective in the team’s overall performance and played a key role in the Toffee’s second by turning over the play in midfield. 7

LEIGHTON BAINES: Flourished in a wing-back role. His vision and passing ensured Everton built dangerous attacks down the left. 7

ROSS BARKLEY: Demonstrated his dribbling ability with several marauding runs through the City midfield before using the ball well to find a team-mate. Slid Mirallas in for the second goal with a well-weighted ball. Ronald Koeman will have been impressed with his mature performance. 8

KEVIN MIRALLAS: Grabbed an assist when he cut back well for Lukaku to sweep home after he was sent in behind the City defence by Davies. Got a deserved goal early in the second half with a clinical finish. Always looked a threat on the break. 9

ROMELU LUKAKU: Toiled away up front without seeing too much of the ball. Took his goal superbly well with a simple side-foot finish into the bottom corner. Lively performance from the Belgian. 8

Substitutes:

MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN (replaced Mirallas 65′) Made his first appearance as an Everton man. Came on to protect the lead at 2-0 up. 6

JAMES MCCARTHY (replaced Barry 74′) Gave the midfield fresh legs. 6

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (replaced Barkley 90′) Awesome finish for a debut goal. 7

 

MANCHESTER CITY

CLAUDIO BRAVO: Miscontrolled a back pass from John Stones in the first half to give Pep Guardiola a heart-in-mouth moment. Wrong-footed for Everton’s opening goal. Ademola Lookman put in between his legs for Everton’s fourth. 4

BACARY SAGNA: Poor final ball when he found himself in good positions. Had a wonderful header at the back post cleared off the line. Didn’t offer enough going forward. 5

NICOLAS OTAMENDI: Careless pass in the first ten minutes led to Everton scoring what turned out to be a disallowed goal. Saw a lot of the ball and showed some good defending at times. 6

JOHN STONES: Won lots of headers but caught out of position at times. Awful defending for Everton’s fourth goal as he cleared against a City attacker before it fell to Lookman. 4

GAEL CLICHY: Failed to cover the space left by Stones for Everton’s second goal. Coleman gave him a torrid time at left-back. 5

DAVID SILVA: Combined with Kevin de Bruyne time and again to create City’s best moments. Had a golden chance but turned back on himself after the keeper narrowed the angle. 6

PABLO ZABALETA: Looked uncomfortable in an unfamiliar central midfield position. Not creative enough and was substituted after an hour. 5

YAYA TOURE: Kept things ticking over in midfield. Lost the ball a couple of times leading to Everton breaks. 5

KEVIN DE BRUYNE: Forced to come deep all too often but everything good about City’s play came through this man. Set Sterling up with a wonderful ball across the box in the first half and created several more opportunities for his team-mates. A typical De Bruyne performance. 7

SERGIO AGUERO: Ineffective throughout and wasted possession all too often when he found himself in good positions. 5

RAHEEM STERLING: Should have got his shot off when he had a chance early on in the first-half but took a touch and was brought down by Robles. Had the best of City’s chances and sent a fizzing shot from outside the area just wide. 6

Substitutes:

KELECHI IHEANACHO (replaced Zabaleta 62′) Couldn’t get into the game 5