Manchester City are no strangers to setting new records, but that doesn’t make their current historic winning run of 17 consecutive matches any less impressive. The latest win saw them take on Everton, who had just come away from a humbling 2-0 defeat to a relegation-battling Fulham. The lead at the top of the Premier League table now for City is at ten points, with Manchester United and Leicester City both on 46 points. This tactical analysis will look at how Pep Guardiola’s tactics allowed City to control large portions of the game, and ultimately get the win.
Lineups
Hosts Everton went with a 4-4-1-1, looking to combat Manchester City’s midfield dominance while also leaving them with enough personnel up-top to cause some damage. As the match progressed, they switched to a 4-2-3-1 for a larger presence in midfield. Jordan Pickford returned to the starting 11 for the Toffees, with a back four of Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane, and Yerry Mina. Tom Davies lined up next to Abdoulaye Doucouré in the middle of the park, with Lucas Digne and Alex Iwobi occupying the wide areas. Gylfi Sigurdsson played the number 10 role, with Richarlison leading the line.
4-3-3 was the chosen shape for Guardiola. Gabriel Jesus was supported up front by Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling. The midfield three for City consisted of Phil Foden, who was given a licence to attack and show his creativity; Bernardo Silva and Rodri accompanied him. The defensive performances of late have been brilliant, with Ruben Dias playing a huge part in that. His central defensive partner for this fixture was Aymeric Laporte, with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo operating as the full-backs.
