Match date: 23 August 2015

Both sides have had a good opening to the new season with Everton taking four points from their first two matches and Manchester City taking all six. This was a match between two sides that looked reinvigorated after a frustrating campaign last season.

Roberto Martinez set his side out with the same XI that beat Southampton 3-0 in their last match, in what was Everton’s best performance in quite some time. Martinez kept the same shape as well, with Everton lining up in a 4-2-3-1.

Pellegrini also kept the same XI and the same 4-2-3-1 shape that saw Manchester City beat Chelsea a resounding 3-0 last weekend.

Silva Excels Again

Against Chelsea, Silva was excellent. He moved the ball incredibly well, opened up space for Agüero by dragging Matic away from the top of the penalty area, and created some good chances for his teammates. Against Everton, Silva was undoubtedly the man of the match. He again dictated the play of Manchester City when they were in the final third and was close to getting a goal of his own. In some ways, Silva is playing at his best, and a lot of this has to do what is around him and the formation that Pellegrini has been setting Manchester City up in. Last season, Pellegrini would often set his side out in a 4-4-2/4-2-2-2 (although last season in this fixture, Manchester City fluctuated between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2) and Silva’s influence would not have been as great in a wider role. Even last year when Silva was played in a more central role, Nasri usually started in one of the wide roles, with the mentality of coming inside and closing down space that Silva would operate in. With Sterling and Navas in the side, however, they are able to stretch the field laterally as well as pushing the opposition back, and this allowed Silva to have even more room to operate.

Silva dictate everything that Manchester City did in the final third of the field during his time on the field. A lot of this had to do with the shape and personnel around him, as mentioned above, but it also had to do with his individual movement. When the Spaniard found himself in central areas, Gareth Barry would try to stick with him, following Silva when he dropped deep or tracking his movements around the ‘hole.’ However, Silva was clever, using the movement of Agüero to find space for himself and losing Barry by drifting out wide, where the Englishman would not follow him when Manchester City had more sustained possession in the Everton defensive third.

As mentioned, Silva’s movement freed himself up from Barry in the central areas, but rather the Spaniard was able to find space without having to evade Barry with his movements by simply drifting out wide. As mentioned, Sterling and Navas stretch the field laterally, allowing more space for Silva in those wide areas when he does move into the half spaces. His combinations in these areas were essential to Manchester City’s good combinations as it dragged either Stones of Jagielka away from the Everton penalty area.

Manchester City’s first goal started by Silva, releasing Sterling on the left and staying close to ensure that Sterling was isolated against Stones. Kolarov overlapped Sterling, got on the ball, and slotted it in the near post past Howard, who was leaning to the left to cut off a ball across the box.

City Attack the Left

One of the biggest threats to Chelsea last weekend was the Kolarov-Sterling connection on the left side of Manchester City’s attack. Sterling was all over Ivanovic, who has been on a sharp decline, while Kolarov found space as Ramires and Willian failed to track him well enough. Now up against Everton, Manchester City did the same. Sterling’s directness with the ball pushed Coleman back and while the new Manchester City player did not expose Coleman as he did against Ivanovic, he was still very effective and linked up very well with Silva throughout the match, as well as Kolarov.

Kolarov offers the same sort of directness and is always willing to get forward and as we saw against Chelsea, Kolarov was able to breeze by his marker, in this case Cleverley, with relative ease. With Sterling pushing Coleman back, it allow a huge space for Kolarov to run into and the opening goal was a perfect combination of Sterling’s pace and directness and Kolarov’s bursts forward.

As mentioned, Silva played a huge part in the success of Manchester City’s attacks down the left. Again, Barry would rarely follow Silva into the wide areas which allowed City to create 3v2 situations in those wide areas. At times, the rotation of the Manchester City players would cause Stones to get dragged out of the centre and leave Jagielka isolated against Agüero.

Midfield Battle

In both league matches between these two last year, the midfield was incredibly open. It led to entertaining matches, but not much control. This match was different. Manchester City pressed fairly well, pushing the Everton midfield back at times and other times making it difficult for Stones and Jagielka, although the former showed excellent composure when pressed. Stones made some excellent passes to break Manchester City’s line of pressing into Barkley.

When City were not pressing they would defend in a midblock in a 4-4-1-1, with Silva occasionally trying to keep Barry from getting on the ball. You can see this in the screen capture below as well as John Stones stepping out of the back with the ball, something he did very well throughout the match. Toure and Fernandinho made it difficult for Barry, McCarthy, and Barkley to find space for much of the match.

On the other side of the ball, Everton closed up the midfield just as well. The Merseyside club defended more in a 4-1-4-1 when they were in a midblock with Barry sitting deep, trying to contain Silva, while McCarthy would step to Yaya Toure and Barkley would step to Fernandinho. Playing in a 4-1-4-1 makes sense to do so when playing against a 4-2-3-1 as it allows the midfield shapes match up. You can see the man-marking in the screen capture below as well as how high McCarthy and Barkley would go to close down Yaya Toure and Fernandinho.

Barkley Looking Lively (Sometimes)

The Everton man had his moments in the match. There were times where he was able to find space between the lines as Yaya Toure and Fernandinho would step high or Barkley was able to turn one either Toure or Fernandinho and accelerate into space, causing the Manchester City back line problems. Unfortunately, Barkley’s decision making during these moments was sometimes lost on him. He would try to create chances for himself by taking on several City players before getting crowded out.

Everton’s best spell of the match was between Manchester City’s goals and the best moments typically involved Barkley getting on the ball, whether he started attacks from deeper positions or between the lines, he was always the spark for his side, which makes sense considering the players around him. Barkley is incredibly dynamic and creative compared to players like Barry, McCarthy, and Cleverley, who Martinez started on the right side of midfield again as opposed to someone with more flair like Mirallas or Deulofeu.

Conclusion

A good match overall and one that saw Manchester City continue to show growth over last season’s disappointments. Pellegrini’s newly worked attacking setup has worked incredibly well to bring the best out of David Silva. The Spaniard was key to this win as he dictated City’s play incredibly well.

Everton looked good in spells, but there was a lack of ideas from time to time. When Barkley was uninvolved in the match, the Merseyside club struggled to get anything going forward and looked lethargic in possession. Overall, Everton’s start to the season has been promising and it is important for them and Martinez to avoid the ups and downs of last season.