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Gabriel Jesus Scores Twice as Manchester City Beat Everton 2-1 in Premier League
January 1, 2020
Manchester City closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to 11 points after beating Everton 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. Two goals from Gabriel Jesus proved enough for City, despite Richarlison getting one back for the Toffees.
The result means the Citizens stay third and one point adrift of Leicester City. Meanwhile, Liverpool can restore their 14-point lead over last season's champions if the Reds beat Sheffield United at Anfield on Thursday.
VAR dominated the key exchanges during the first half, being called into action after Phil Foden thought he'd opened the scoring in the 13th minute. The City teenager tapped in from a Joao Cancelo cross to cap a slick move, only for the review system to deem Riyad Mahrez offside in the buildup:
Mahrez was again at the centre of things when he was brought down in the area by Everton left-back Lucas Digne six minutes later. The offside flag had stopped play, but replays showed the winger was onside before the foul occurred.
VAR checked both incidents, and ultimately no penalty was awarded. To add to the confusion, the visitors were awarded a free-kick, despite Mahrez being deemed onside.
Still, the hosts were still firmly in control of play. Everton's best threat came from wide areas, with raiding right-back Seamus Coleman denied when trying to lob stand-in City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
The Toffees' best chance came moments before the break when Yerry Mina headed wide from a corner. It would prove a costly miss because Jesus gave the Citizens their first lead six minutes after the restart with a classy finish after being played in by Ilkay Gundogan:
Jesus doubled his tally two minutes before the hour mark when he capped a delightful exchange of passes with a low, driven finish beyond Jordan Pickford:
The result should have been safe, but reckless play at the back let Everton back in. It was Bravo who made the mistake, gifting the ball to Moise Kean on the edge of the area.
The forward bundled the ball to fellow substitute Theo Walcott, who flashed a shot across the box. His effort deflected off Benjamin Mendy, allowing Richarlison to convert from close range.
City were reeling, and Kean went close when his spectacular scissor kick to meet a Djibril Sidibe cross flashed wide. At the other end, Foden raced clear and thought he'd won a penalty, but nothing was given after Sidibe's challenge, while Jesus crashed a shot off the post after being teed up by Mahrez.
Jesus drew a decent stop from Pickford before Foden made way for a returning David Silva, with City keen to keep the ball better. Ultimately, the home side did enough to just about get over the line after producing some spectacular football in patches.
Meanwhile, Everton showed decent resolve in a tough fixture, offering hope that new manager Carlo Ancelotti will make a quick recovery from his first setback in charge.
What's Next?
City host League Two side Port Vale in FA Cup action on Saturday, while Everton travel to Anfield for a Merseyside derby in that competition on Sunday.