Everton suffered a third straight Premier League defeat against Manchester City.

The hosts were forced into an early change when Theo Walcott suffered a head injury in attempting to block a Raheem Sterling delivery into their penalty area.

Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring with a goal against the run of play after Riyad Mahrez teed up Kevin de Bruyne to float a cross for the Brazilian to head home.

But the Blues struck back when Seamus Coleman chipped the ball over an advancing Ederson for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to equalise with a diving header.

After the half-time interval, the reigning champions went ahead again with Mahrez curling a free kick that had Jordan Pickford well beaten from 25 yards.

Pep Guardiola’s side rounded off their victory six minutes from the end as Sterling drilled home following Pickford parrying Sergio Aguero’s shot.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:

Fate gives Silva a helping hand

 

Marco Silva made his first mistake before this game had even kicked off in picking the wrong former Arsenal misfit to start on the left-hand side of attack.

But fate has a funny way of making people see the error of their ways as the Blues manager found out with an early change following Theo Walcott’s injury.

A seemingly innocuous ball to the face as the 30-year-old attempted to block Raheem Sterling’s cross into the box saw him stretchered off after four minutes.

Walcott’s premature withdrawal was unfortunate but positively force Silva’s hand. In his absence, Alex Iwobi proved a regular attacking threat in the first half.

He was also instrumental in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s equaliser after ruthlessly snatching possession from Manchester City deep in their own penalty area.

Unfortunate as Walcott’s early exit was, it also acted as a much-needed catalyst.

Blues’ square peg syndrome continues

 

An enforced change may have allowed Everton to find a sense of first-half initiative but Silva’s attempt to turn the tide late on left a lot to be desired.

Moise Kean, on in place of another substitute in Iwobi, found himself shunted into a role on the right-hand side of the hosts’ attack as City continue to run riot.

Everton managers have often wedged square pegs in round holes. Kevin Mirallas’ stint as a ‘false nine’ striker, for instance, was not Roberto Martinez’s finest hour.

Yet the Italy international was bought as a goal-scoring threat and served neither use nor ornament out wide while an isolated Dominic Calvert-Lewin toiled.

David Moyes infamously claimed that facing City was “like going into a gunfight when you’ve only got a knife”. His modern successor opted for disarmament.

Mina will get among the goals

 

Silva made no secret last month about his concern at Everton’s lack of goals – if Yerry Mina gets his way, those misgivings will soon be a thing of the past.

The Colombia international’s role in conceding the free kick which led to City’s second goal invariably draws fresh scrutiny on his defensive capabilities.

In attack, though, Mina is showing signs that he will soon be joining his side’s regular list of goal scorers through a persistent aerial threat from set pieces.

Had it not been for Ederson’s razor-sharp reflexes, he would have almost certainly earned Everton a hard-fought point against the Citizens.

Sooner rather than later, the goals will start to flow at the right end ofr him.

Finally some grounds for optimism

 

Bad things traditionally come in threes and a hat-trick of Premier League defeats suggests that the Blues might finally be able to turn the corner of that dismal form.

Beyond the grim statistics, however, were also genuine signs that Silva’s side are still capable of bringing their current malaise to a halt in the coming weeks.

City’s dominance was reflected in the scoreline but had been made to appear somewhat on the back foot for a brief spell either side of the half time interval.

Until Mahrez swept home from 25 yards, the sense of foreboding that the reigning champions would again take the lead did not appear a mere formality.

Even though it would not last, Everton demonstrated how they can fight their way out of another mid-table drift. All they have to do now is live up to it.