Everton 0-3 Manchester City: Ilkay Gundogan’s brace is backed up by another Erling Haaland strike

Ahead of Manchester City’s victory over Leeds United last weekend. Ilkay Gundogan had a fine season, but not a productive one in front of goal. Since then and in the course of just two Premier League appearances, the German has doubled his tally from four to eight and as a result City are six points from yet another league title.

This is one of the true beauties of Pep Guardiola’s latest City incarnation. This version isn’t always as fantastically enchanting to watch as some that have previously passed on Guardiola’s watch. But they remain just as monotonously reliable and relentless and, most importantly, they can draw purpose and inspiration from just about anyone when the moment demands it.

At Goodison Park, a place where hope has not yet been extinguished, they beat Everton without breaking a sweat. The home side were competitive for 35 minutes and then Mason Holgate missed an opportunity on one side, City scored twice in a minute on the other and the game was over.

Gundogan’s opening goal – a tap over his shoulder with his right foot – was reminiscent of the sort of thing the great Dennis Bergkamp used to do. Erling Haaland’s header a minute later was a true striker and, remarkably, only his third touch of the game at the time.

As for Gundogan’s free kick five minutes into the second half, that was a moment of football and art. It seemed to take forever to get into goal, yet there was a sense of inevitability from the moment he pulled his foot back to strike.

Manchester City checked the process as they stormed to a three-nil lead over Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland jumped highest in the Everton box to double his side’s lead with his 36th goal of the season

Haaland then celebrated scoring his 36th Premier League goal of the season as Everton fell victim to his attacking prowess

For Everton, the damage did not get any bigger and that may well be important. They are only one point out of the bottom three, but their goal difference is also two better than Leeds, the team below them. So the fact that there was no mirror of the collapse they suffered here against Newcastle at the end of April could still serve them well.

However, Gundogan’s number of goals in the league would make him top scorer in Sean Dyche’s Everton squad. Dwight McNeill is Everton’s top scorer with seven goals and that’s saying a lot.

Here their best striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was quite dangerous in the first half, but, presumably injured, did not show up for the second half. Dyche, you feel, has just about had enough of that particular problem.

If anything, his team’s approach to the game was hard to fault. Compact across the center of the field when City had the ball – which they often did – they ran and pressed and closed on opponents.

For a while it worked to such an extent that City had created no chance at all until they scored eight minutes before the break. But this is the point. They did score.

And then, a minute or so later, they scored again. Suddenly Everton were staring not at the possibility of a point, but at decency and damage limitation. When people talk about how difficult it is to play against Guardiola’s team, this is what they mean.

Everton had a chance just before Gundogan’s first goal and did not take it. A goal would have turned the knob. It’s always easier to conjure up energy when you have something tangible to cling to.

As it was, Holgate was only able to hit the ball over the bar from five yards out after James Tarkowski headed a corner kick to him in the 35th minute. Less than two minutes later, City led.

Riyad Mahrez’s cross on the right was a decent one but left Gundogan, back to goal, with an awful lot to do. It took a split second and two touches to turn the ability into reality.

First the ball was cushioned on the German’s thigh, then he was hooked back towards goal with his right foot and over his right shoulder. In Everton’s goal, Jordan Pickford no doubt didn’t even see the ball until it was almost over. Even diving was fruitless.

If City score first they can be devilishly hard to rule and Everton hadn’t even had time to think about how they could do that when they were two down.

This time the danger came from the other side and when Gundogan crossed, Haaland lifted himself up powerfully through Pickford’s attempted right-handed save from about seven yards.

On the sideline, Dyche put a finger on each temple as if urging his players to concentrate. You could say it was a little too late for that.

There was a moment in the second half when Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (green top) appeared to have fouled Haaland (lying down) in the penalty area

Man City manager Pep Guardiola (centre) celebrated full-time with traveling supporters at Goodison Park

Everton manager Sean Dyche (left) appeared frustrated at times as his Everton side started well but quickly faded against City

Gündogan (right) scored his second goal of the match with a perfectly placed free kick from the edge of the box

Gundogan came through again for his own manager five minutes into the second half. Phil Foden was brought down by James Garner and the penalty was demanded by the City midfielder who curled the resulting free-kick over the wall and into the corner with his right foot.

Headers from successive Everton corner kicks did cause a slight alarm at City in the 66th minute as substitute Aamadou Onana and Yerry Mina came close. But Everton’s attacking efforts at this stage were purely decorative.

At full time it became lively. Guardiola and Mina appeared to be exchanging words, while Everton’s stewards deemed it necessary to form a protective yellow ring around the technical zones.

At the away supporters, meanwhile, City players celebrated as if they knew another crucial exam had been taken. This was consecutive win number eleven. At Guardiola’s City, standards are rarely allowed to drop.