Goodison Road was becoming packed, plastic pint pots spilling out of The Winslow. More cameras – not mobiles but actual cameras, the strap around the neck Nikons – than ordinarily acceptable. More fans stopping on street corners for pictures of the Grand Old Lady.
There was a guy resting against the blue brick of Everton’s main stand surveying all of this, the buzz of nostalgia and the buzz of history and the buzzing hope of creating lasting memories. Owner of a kind face, nudging to ask, “what do you reckon today”.
He asks that because that is what you do to strangers on days like these, when the champions – easily dethroned champions yet champions all the same – arrive for one final time.
Arriving with the best coach to have ever lived, even if the other side of Stanley Park might disagree, and for the latest leg of a farewell tour of one of the division’s true greats.
It transpires that this man is not heading inside. He says the family own one season ticket between them and are sharing the final games of the long goodbye. His lad takes this one, Manchester City, and the dad is going to Ipswich Town in a fortnight. He’d initially fancied Southampton but the noon kick off on a Sunday makes that impossible. Work commitments. The man divulges that he’s a priest.
He was here for his son, dropping him off and hanging around for a while, taking in the smells and sights as Everton looked to engineer a few final sprinklings of memorable stardust. In the end, those were reserved for a youngster from Failsworth, a City supporter whose divine intervention may well be steering his club back into the Champions League.
Everton fans stopped on street corners for pictures of Goodison Park on Saturday
Manchester City strengthened their Champions League hopes with a 2-0 win over Everton
Nico O’Reilly, the central midfielder operating at left back, won the visitors this match
Nico O’Reilly, the central midfielder operating at left back, won them this. He kissed the badge and slid across to a delirious away end with six minutes remaining of a game David Moyes will believe went against his team – only his third defeat of a second spell in charge.
A sheepish O’Reilly was later pushed towards the away enclosure to take plaudits, Pep Guardiola barely containing emotion when flinging arms around his lead analyst, Carles Planchart, down the tunnel.
‘It’s big, it’s big,’ Guardiola said. ‘It looks like in this team if you play left back you score goals. Josko Gvardiol before and now him. Really good. We are so grateful to him because he is not a left back. Our fans love Nico.’
Another hugely significant victory for Guardiola, although one that hadn’t felt achievable before he turned to the substitutes. This had not been without incident – penalty claims at both ends, Jake O’Brien taking a goalbound Kevin De Bruyne shot straight in the chops, James Tarkowski heading a corner against Stefan Ortega’s post before later departing with a hamstring injury – but felt like a snoozy lunchtime game rather than an afternoon of genuine thrust.
For Everton it didn’t need to be. Terrific recent form, Moyes lighting a fire on his return.
‘It’s amazing that I’m now pretty disappointed that we’ve lost to Man City,’ Moyes said. Anything extra from here is surely considered a bonus and only serves as further momentum ahead of a first season in new surroundings.
City, meanwhile, are in this tense battle for the top five didn’t always look like capitalising on the rousing comeback when meeting Crystal Palace last weekend.
As has so often been the case for Guardiola throughout a tortuous campaign, they appeared incapable of following up one performance with another. Flat, almost as if a point would do. Maybe it would but, with Aston Villa to come on Tuesday night, City could not know that. Fortunately for them, they will have no need to find out now.
James Tarkowski hit the woodwork with a header before going off with a hamstring injury
The 20-year-old finished from close range with six minutes remaining on the clock
Mateo Kovacic came off the bench and sealed the win for Manchester City in injury-time
Pep Guardiola’s side have leapfrogged Nottingham Forest into fourth after Saturday’s win
David Moyes has already lit a fire beneath Everton since his return to Goodison Park
Clearly they were not playing within themselves, evidenced by Nico Gonzalez and Ilkay Gundogan simultaneously imploring each other to calm down as Everton flew out of the traps following half time.
Or by Guardiola’s running dialogue with fourth official Bobby Madley. Savinho tested Jordan Pickford, as Matheus Nunes had earlier on, while Gonzalez nicked a cross off O’Reilly’s head. There were chances, albeit fleeting – until Guardiola spun on his heels and called for reinforcements.
It was not until 12 minutes were left that Jeremy Doku was called for inspiration. No Jack Grealish, no James McAtee, both staying seated. Oscar Bobb wasn’t even here. Having Bernardo Silva on the right wing all day was effectively a slow left armer tying up an end for a few hours.
Doku offered an energy, Omar Marmoush fluffing his lines when through, and it sparked something in Silva – delaying and delaying, waiting for the Nunes run and the perfectly timed pass ended up with Nunes squaring and O’Reilly bundling in.
De Bruyne came off to a warm and heartening reception by the home supporters, appreciating genius, and City were controlling by this point – truly comfortable once Mateo Kovacic found Pickford’s far corner in stoppage time.