Everton vs. Manchester City: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Manchester City went top of the Premier League table on Sunday thanks to a 2-0 win at Everton, where Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri scored to prolong the Citizens' winning start to the season.

Raheem Sterling set Kolarov up for the game's opener after 60 minutes before the battling Toffees were dealt a killer blow by Nasri in the 88th minute to rule out any chance of clinching a draw.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Roberto Martinez's men were defiant in the face of their oppressors and responded well to the opening strike with their own share of attempts on Joe Hart's goal, but a lack of finishing flair proved fatal in the end.

As OptaJoe stats showed, Goodison Park has proved to be a difficult venue for title contenders City in recent years, as they'd won just three of their 18 visits prior to Sunday's collision:

Manager Manuel Pellegrini was hoping summer signing Sterling would be able to finally hit his stride against former derby rivals, with Sergio Aguero returning to Goodison Park having last scored here in May 2014.

Sterling's presence was noticeable for all the wrong reasons, too, not due to making any great on-pitch impact, but more so down to the chorus of jeers that accompanied him, according to the Guardian's Sachin Nakrani:

Everton were full of confidence after beating Southampton 3-0 at St. Mary's last Saturday, and it showed in their approach, as they went toe-to-toe with City in the opening passages, matching their guests by and large.

David Silva and Yaya Toure predictably proved the most poignant string-pullers for Pellegrini's side, but Martinez had his own set of stars impressing, with Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku among them.

The former came to Goodison Park on Sunday having scored for Everton in their first two games of the season, and Barkley was just shy of making it a third after stinging the palms of City No. 1 Joe Hart from long range.

Just minutes later, he and Lukaku combined to go one step further, as the Belgium international found the back of the net, but former Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann agreed he was rightly ruled offside:

It was the travelling outfit who enjoyed a greater share of the first-half opportunities, but Fernandinho conceded a free-kick on the stroke of half-time to gift the Toffees a superb opportunity to go ahead.

Lukaku came within centimetres of opening the scoring, thundering his left-footed attempt off Hart's crossbar to ensure the two sides went in scoreless at the break. BBC Sport's Phil McNulty highlighted Everton's burgeoning threat:

The Citizens returned for the second period with more intent about their play, and Pellegrini was given reason to applaud after it came Silva's turn to hit Tim Howard's frame after 47 minutes.

His link-up with Sterling led to a brilliant effort thudding off the post, and Bleacher Report's Rob Pollard picked the Spanish technician out as the heartbeat of Manchester City's bid for success:

"

@PrathamGuthi91 very close so far. mangala was superb for 40 mins and then started to look shaky. silva absolute class.

— Rob (@RobPollard_) August 23, 2015"

The push in tempo paid dividends for City, too, after Sterling was again involved in the probing, setting up Kolarov for the game's opener following a well-timed overlapping run from the Serbian.

Kolarov fired past Howard at the near-post in what could have been pulled up as poor goalkeeping, but writer Samuel Jay C was correct in asserting City's left flank as a particularly powerful aspect of their play:

The Toffees wouldn't relent in their bid to earn an equaliser, however, and Steven Naismith came close to setting Barkley up for a quick response before a timely deflection saw the effort drawn wide.

Sterling's afternoon came to an end with 15 minutes remaining, and the Goodison Park crowd responded to his exit with the same ring of boos that had followed him for much of the game, replaced by Nasri. Squawka provided evidence of a successful outing upon his return to Merseyside:

Having started in the ascendancy, City eventually became relegated to operating on the counter, but captain Vincent Kompany just about managed to hold a firm defensive line and keep the hosts at bay.

A late header from Gareth Barry was cleared off the line as Everton pressed, but a terrific Nasri lob with just two minutes remaining put any hopes of a point to bed as Manchester City asserted their dominance.

That goal was a particularly bitter pill for Everton to swallow, but Wednesday's fixture against Barnsley in the Capital One Cup provides swift opportunity to get back to winning ways.

Manchester City won't feature in the midweek action and will instead prepare to take on Watford next Saturday, waiting in anticipation to see if Liverpool can match their points tally with a trip to Arsenal on Monday night. 

Post-Match Reaction

Pellegrini was unsurprisingly content with Sunday's scoreline, speaking positively of his players' performances thus far, per the official Premier League Twitter account:

And what manager wouldn't be pleased with a team of City's quality operating in the fluid manner they are, specifically in managing to make it three games without conceding a single goal?

Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo quoted the Argentinian tactician, who highlighted defence as especially important in the club's effort to reclaim their English crown:

It was captain Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala who started at centre-back for City, and it emerged the only thing preventing new signing Nicolas Otamendi from featuring was work permit complications, per Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News:

Martinez, on the other hand, may rue a result that at one point looked as though it could go in Everton's favour, with the Toffees hammering on City's door prior to conceding their second.

The Everton chief said his side may well have challenged for all three points had they scored the opening goal, with Kolarov's strike proving to be a game-changer:

Jones also quoted Martinez, who spoke about Chelsea target John Stones, one of the hosts' more impressive players:

Manchester City's trajectory would have one believe it's only upward from here for the league leaders, but Everton will be tested as they look to bounce back from a first defeat of the new term.