At noon on September 23, in the sixth round of the Premier League, Man City hosted Everton.
Guardiola fielded his strongest lineup and waited for Moyes's team to arrive.
Courtois was in goal, with Leighton Baines, Pepe, Kompany, and Zabaleta in defense. Busquets played as the holding midfielder, with David Silva and Toni Kroos farther forward. The front three were Hazard, Su Dong, and Sánchez.
Once the match began, Man City used its home-field advantage and superior overall strength to launch a fierce attack on Everton. Leighton Baines was especially fired up against his former club and kept creating danger.
First, he assisted Toni Kroos, whose long-range shot went wide. Then, just outside the penalty area, he received Hazard's return pass and unleashed a furious shot that narrowly missed, giving Man City the early initiative.
In the eighth minute, Leighton Baines sent another cross in from the left. Center-back Jagielka won the first ball, but made a mistake when passing it back to goalkeeper Howard. Su Dong quickly raced in from behind, poked the ball past the advancing goalkeeper, and calmly rolled it into the empty net. One-nil!
After scoring, Su Dong did not slow down. He charged straight toward the sideline, grinning from ear to ear.
And rightly so. Who wouldn't be happy after suddenly picking up such a huge gift?
Everton manager Moyes was furious on the touchline, jumping up and down in rage. He simply could not accept that his center-back had played with such reckless overconfidence in his own defense—especially against Man City.
Well, now he had paid the price!
After conceding, Everton began paying more attention to defense, while Man City patiently controlled possession.
In the thirty-fifth minute, Hazard forced his way through on the left and won a corner.
David Silva quickly took