Outgoing Premier League title holders Manchester City are well in the hunt to secure a UEFA Champions League spot next season following a hard-fought 2-0 victory away to Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Cityzens faced the prospect of being pushed out of the Premier League top five depending on results elsewhere come the end of the weekend, but made sure to pick up the crucial win and strengthen their hopes of top continental football for the next campaign.
There was nothing to separate both sides in terms of goals in the opening half, though City bossed possession nonetheless. Everton’s best chance came the way of centre-back James Tarkowski, who rose highest to meet James Garner’s corner and flicked a header against the post.
On the stroke of half-time, City could have gone ahead with a fast break forward but Kevin de Bruyne saw his goal-bound strike brilliantly cleared off the line by Jake O’Brien’s diving header.
The second half seemed to be heading towards a stalemate until the 84th minute when emerging star Nico O’Reilly opened the scoring, becoming the fourth-youngest player to score in successive Premier League games for City at 20 years and 29 days.
O’Reilly is behind Kelechi Iheanacho, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden on that list, and has had a hand in six goals across his last six appearances for City in all competitions since breaking into the first team this season.
Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic then put the tie to bed in stoppage time as he found the back of the net to give the visitors a hard-fought victory which keeps them in the hunt for a top-five finish.
Victory in their next game against Aston Villa, who are also chasing a top-five place, will go a long way to sealing a coveted Champions League spot.