Pep Guardiola sealed a first victory over Everton as Manchester City ran out 3-1 winners.

Leroy Sane had volleyed the runaway Premier League leaders to an early lead before a swift counter attack saw Gabriel Jesus head home from close range.

Frustrations grew when Raheem Sterling rounded off a flowing City move as the ex-Liverpool winger met David Silva’s cut-back to fire past Jordan Pickford.

Yannick Bolasie pulled back a consolation for the Blues as his low shot burrowed past Ederson courtesy of the City stopper’s right-hand post.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:

Goodison stuck in a loveless marriage

 

Sam Allardyce knows he is already in the same territory as his predecessors.

Once an Everton manager loses the fan base, the inevitable is never far away – not that the latest incumbent appears to even care about that.

He has severely overestimated how many Blues supporters remain on his side; a number which was further diluted at Goodison Park this evening.

Some had clearly seen enough after their side handed Pep Guardiola’s side a first-half walkover and left visible pockets of empty seats across the stadium.

Allardyce would have done well to take note of the adulation given to Howard Kendall, both in the stands and on the team sheet, before this game.

The late Goodison legend famously declared Everton a marriage upon his return from a brief ‘love affair’ with Manchester City.

Under Allardyce, his beloved club are locked in a loveless marriage and one which has already far outweighed its convenience.

‘Big Sam’ can’t play the numbers game

 

If you were to believe Allardyce, City’s success has come down to figures; £350 million ‘had a bit to do’ with their imminent Premier League coronation.

But Everton’s return on a season where close to £200m was invested continues to make for incredibly unpleasant and even appalling viewing.

Finishing the game with 18% possession is alarming but increasingly so when they rarely deviated upward of that figure across the entire match.

Equally damning is the fact that City midfielder Fernandinho completed just two passes less in the first half than Everton’s entire team of 64.

Sides outside the English top flight have managed to hold their own against Guardiola’s charges yet Everton could not even emulate Bristol City or Wigan Athletic.

With stats like that, Allardyce is in no position to play the numbers game.

Mismatched midfield sees Blues overrun

 

Evertonians must have thought the days of a pedestrian midfield made up of Manchester United misfits were long behind them.

But Morgan Schneiderlin and Wayne Rooney are proving modern-day equivalents to the 2013 partnering of Phil Neville and Darron Gibson.

Schneiderlin, in particular, failed to merit his first starring role since a humiliating performance in last month’s 5-1 hammering at Arsenal.

He was also unable to successfully complete a pass until the 36th minute, by which point the France international had been largely chasing shadows.

Rooney fared little better in truth and was regularly dispossessed in his own half while a failure to cut out David Silva’s pass paved the way for City’s third.

Tom Davies’ introduction in the former England captain’s place added a much-needed drive to proceedings as well as an act of mercy for his teammate.

Bear-pit needs better motivation

 

Goodison remains a unique sense of identity in modern football. Quite why the stadium’s PA decided to try and alter that remains a mystery.

The bear-pit environment with which the Grand Old Lady is synonymous was never going to be cajoled into action by some artificial pre-match motivation.

Playing a medley of heavy metal and dance music felt a cheap attempt to stir some passion among supporters suffering through Allardyce’s tenure.

If Everton want to raise the roof for next weekend’s Merseyside derby, they should consider some better motivational tactics – like a better performance.