LIVERPOOL: Manchester City closed in on retaining the Premier League title as Ilkay Gundogan scored twice in a 3-0 win on Sunday that kept Everton looking over their shoulders in the relegation battle.
City’s superior goal difference means five points from their remaining matches will likely be enough for a fifth title in six seasons.
Everton remain just one point outside the relegation zone and could slip into the bottom three if Leicester beat Liverpool on Monday.
By contrast to the Toffees’ troubles, City are still well on course for a treble and could afford the luxury of an afternoon off for some of their stars ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal, second leg against Real Madrid.
Guardiola made four changes from the side that drew 1-1 in the first leg in the Spanish capital on Tuesday with John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish left on the bench.
It took the visitors 35 minutes to find their rhythm, by which point they should have been behind as Mason Holgate somehow spooned over a glorious chance to open the scoring after James Tarkowski headed down a corner.
Within three minutes of Holgate’s sitter, the game was over as a contest.
Guardiola had stern words for Gundogan despite the German scoring twice in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Leeds after the midfielder missed a late penalty having been given the chance to complete his hat trick by Erling Haaland.
Gundogan made amends with a stunning touch to control and then flick home Riyad Mahrez’s cross in one movement to break the deadlock.
Moments later, he created the second with a floated cross that invited Haaland to power home his 52nd goal of the season with just his third touch in 39 minutes.
Everton boss Sean Dyche showed he too was already thinking about his side’s final two games of the season by replacing talismanic striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has missed most of the season through injury, with Neal Maupay at half time.
Guardiola could not have wished for a more serene second half to prepare for the visit of the European champions in midweek as another moment of brilliance from Gundogan made it 3-0 six minutes after the restart.
The 32-year-old is probably into the final month of his seven-year stay in Manchester with his contract up at the end of the season and Barcelona reportedly ready to pounce on a free transfer, but looks set to go out on a high.
Gundogan curled a free kick beyond the desperate dive of Jordan Pickford for his ninth goal of the season.
Goal difference could be decisive in the battle to beat the drop and Everton did at least manage to stop the bleeding at three.
Indeed the home side came closest to scoring in the final quarter when Amadou Onana’s header came crashing back off the crossbar.
Separately, reports said on Sunday that Chelsea are on the verge of hiring Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager after agreeing on terms with the former Paris Saint Germain boss.
Pochettino is reportedly set to join Chelsea at the end of this season as he returns to the Premier League four years after his sacking by Tottenham.
The Argentine will replace interim manager Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly bids to get his troubled club back on track after a dismal season.
Pochettino will be Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager in five years after Boehly sacked Thomas Tuchel in September and then axed Graham Potter in April.
Pochettino, who has also managed in the Premier League with Southampton, left Paris Saint Germain in July 2022 and was replaced by Christophe Galtier.
Pochettino guided Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019 when they finished as runners-up to Liverpool.
