Manchester City made it three wins from three at the start of the new Premier League season with a 2-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon.
The visitors broke the deadlock on the hour mark when Aleksandar Kolarov broke forward down the left and beat Tim Howard at his near post from the tightest of angles.
Everton went in search of an equaliser, but it was City who wrapped up the points late on when Samir Nasri lifted the ball over the keeper having exchanged passes with Yaya Toure.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether it was a fair result on Merseyside.
Match statistics
EVERTON
Shots: 10
On target: 1
Possession: 46%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 5
MAN CITY
Shots: 16
On target: 9
Possession: 54%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 7
Was the result fair?
Everton had their moments in this match, with Romelu Lukaku hitting the crossbar and Gareth Barry seeing a header cleared off the line, but they can't have many complaints at losing this one today. City were on top for long spells of the match and always looked the most likely team to score, with the likes of Sergio Aguero and David Silva constant threats. Everton's defence dealt with them fairly well for much of the game, but on another day Aguero could have had a couple of goals, while Silva hit the post early in the second half.
Everton could point to a contentious disallowed goal as a potential turning point, but Lukaku appeared to just be offside when the ball was played through to him. It was a very tight decision, but the officials got it right so Roberto Martinez can't have many complaints about that one. The match was actually hanging in the balance before Kolarov's opener, with Everton having overcome a slow start to the half and begun to impose themselves on the game once again.
It was an entertaining contest for the most part, but in the end a two-goal winning margin for City is a fair reflection of how things went. The visitors had eight more shots on target than Everton and, while Howard will be upset with the two goals he let in, he was also called upon to make some important saves over the course of the 90 minutes.
Everton's performance
Following the high of their victory over Southampton last time out, Everton would have gone into this game thinking that a point - or perhaps even all three - was a realistic target. They were slow to get going, however, struggling to pose much of an attacking threat in the opening exchanges. They soon settled into the match, though, and had their chances to go into the break ahead through Phil Jagielka, Ross Barkley and Lukaku.
Had they led City then that would have been harsh on the visitors, but they were certainly right in the game up until Nasri's late goal put it beyond their reach once and for all. The hosts were generally on the back foot for a large chunk of the encounter, though, and their end product in the final third wasn't good enough to truly trouble Joe Hart often enough. It was by no means a bad performance from the Toffees, but they were just second best on the day.
Man City's performance
City have established themselves as the team to beat in the opening stages of the new season, and this was another impressive showing from Manuel Pellegrini's side. It was the least dominant of their three matches so far, but they were still on top for the majority of the game and fully deserved to come away with all three points. They could have been ahead inside the first couple of minutes when Aguero was denied by Howard, while the Argentine striker saw another effort saved shortly after that too as City made a quick start.
They also began the second half brightly before Everton fought their way back into it, and Kolarov's opener came at an important time in the game. They were forced to withstand a bit of Everton pressure as the match wore on, before finally sealing the victory through Nasri's well-worked goal late on. This display won't make as many headlines as last week's victory over Chelsea, but the momentum is still very much with City and Pellegrini could not have asked for a better start to the campaign.
Sports Mole's man of the match
David Silva: Silva may not have had a goal or assist to his name today, but his ability to find space in the hole caused Everton a number of problems. He pulled the strings in his number 10 role and worked well with those around him to keep Everton under pressure.
Biggest gaffe
Howard made a number of important stops today, but he was also at fault for the opening goal when he was beaten at his near post by Kolarov. He may also have wanted to do better for the second when Nasri lifted the ball over him, but the first was the bigger clanger of the two.
Referee performance
Anthony Taylor enjoyed a good game in the middle this afternoon. There were a few half-hearted penalty appeals during the match, but he got all of his biggest decisions right and can be pleased with his afternoon's work.
What next?
Everton: Everton turn their attention to League Cup action in midweek as they travel to face Barnsley on Wednesday.
Man City: City, meanwhile, will look to continue their 100% start to the season at home to Watford next Saturday.
Barney Corkhill
