Everton rout leaves City title bid in tatters
Goals from Belgium stars Romelu Lukaku, teenager Tom Davies and debutant Ademola Lookman gave Everton a 4-0 win over Manchester City.
Everton claimed a clinical 4-0 win at a rain-lashed Goodison Park to leave Manchester City with a tenuous grasp on its Premier League title ambitions.
Pep Guardiola's side dominated possession during the first half but lacked the clinical touch shown by Romelu Lukaku when he dispatched his 12th Premier League goal of the season from the host's only shot on goal during the opening 45 minutes.
It became two from two a little over a minute after the restart, with Lukaku and City's slipshod defence again to the fore as his Belgium international colleague Kevin Mirallas picked out the bottom corner.
Teenage midfielder Tom Davies crowned a majestic performance with a remarkable first senior goal 11 minutes from time and new signing Ademola Lookman came off the bench to add a fourth on his debut, ensuring Everton moved four points clear of West Brom in seventh – cementing its status as best of the rest against the present worst of the elite.
City was aggrieved when Raheem Sterling was denied an early penalty but its lack of conviction in the final third and persistent vulnerabilities around its own box means an ageing squad appears increasingly likely to view a keenly contested title battle from a distance.
As Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United have composed imposing winning runs, City has won four and lost four of its past eight Premier League outings - form that makes for dismal reading ahead of next weekend's showdown with Spurs and its overall prospects of securing UEFA Champions League qualification.
Such a prospect seemed unthinkable when Guardiola confirmed he would swap Bavaria for east Manchester almost a year ago, but failure to the delight of his former Barcelona colleague Ronald Koeman in the Everton dugout brings it into sharp focus.
