Micah Richards blown away by ‘unbelievable’ Man City vs Everton footage on MOTD – ‘just phenomenal’
Everton were ultimately undone by a masterclass in finishing against Manchester City on Saturday.
Erling Haaland score twice as Man City beat Everton 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium, despite a spirited performance from David Moyes‘ side.
Everton felt they should have had a penalty for handball against Bernardo Silva on the hour mark but referee Tony Harrington opted not to point the spot.
It summed up the Toffees’ frustration, with Beto missing a great chance for Everton in the first half that could have potentially altered the game.
However, they left empty-handed and Micah Richards was glowing of Haaland’s performance on Match of the Day.
Micah Richards in awe of what Erling Haaland did in Everton defeat to Man City
Richards was doing an analysis piece of Everton‘s defending after the highlights of the game were shown and admitted that centre-backs James Tarkowski and Michael Keane did little wrong against the “unplayable” Haaland.
He described the Norwegian’s movement for the first goal, a firmly planted header, as “unbelievable game football intelligence”, and praising his football “IQ”.
Continuing to shower the praise, Richards hailed the “outstanding” checking of Haaland’s run for his second goal, but it was a moment later in the game when stripping away from Keane from a Phil Foden throughball that really caught his eye.
Richards said: “This third clip is my absolute favourite. Keane there is in a perfect position, see Foden on the ball there, so when Foden’s on the ball now, how you learnt to defend if he’s got time and space, you drop off, he’s dropped off to gve himself five yards.
“As he plays that pass, Haaland still gets it. And that’s what we talk about, unplayable, the defenders are doing the right things but they still can’t defend him. When he’s in that form he really is unstoppable, and his goal record this season, what’s he got? 23 goals for club and country? He’s just phenomenal.”
What did Pep Guardiola say about Erling Haaland after brace in Man City vs Everton?
While Richards, Alan Shearer, and Gabby Logan waxed lyrical about Haaland’s performance, City boss Pep Guardiola noted one thing that concerned him after the win over Everton.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach thinks it is time for other players in his squad to start sharing the goalscoring burden.
- Everton only had one shot on target to Man City’s seven at the Etihad.
- Their xG was significantly lower at 0.81 to City’s 2.38.
- Jordan Pickford made five saves to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s one.
He told Match of the Day: “We cannot rely completely the team on him, we need other players, wingers and attacking players.
“They have to make the step up to score goals. Of course, we play to provide Erling, but other players have to do it again.”
From an Everton perspective, the Toffees will be glad to see the back of Haaland considering they actually defended quite well against him.
Everton were beaten by Man City but there was more than enough encouragement to take from the defeat. It’s a case of taking it on the chin now and looking forward to the next game.
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