Manchester City 2 Everton 0: Raheem Sterling opens his account as Manuel Pellegrini's side maintain winning start to season

Sterling scored the opener at The Etihad before Fernandinho sealed the win

Andy Hampson
Saturday 29 August 2015 13:01 EDT
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Raheem Sterling celebrates with his Manchester City team-mates
Raheem Sterling celebrates with his Manchester City team-mates (Getty Images)

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STAR MAN

Raheem Sterling. The former Liverpool star was one the livelier players as City looked for an opening in the first half and had a couple of good chances. He then got the goal his performance deserved, and put City firmly in control of the game, in the second minute of the second half.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Fernandinho. The Brazilian midfielder was also impressive and scored a superb goal to put City 2-0 ahead. He won the ball after a Yaya Toure free-kick was blocked and followed up his own hard work to take a return pass from David Silva and fire home.

VIEW FROM THE BENCH

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores sent his side out to defend and frustrate City. A point seemed the limit of their ambition and for 45 minutes the plan proved effective. They may gain confidence from how they resisted a side with a formidable attack for a long spell.

City boss Manuel Pellegrini had to play a more patient game but with such a powerful squad at his disposal, there was never any need to panic. He will feel highly satisfied heading into the international break.

MOAN OF THE MATCH

It was good to see Pellegrini put some of his youngsters on the bench in Patrick Roberts, Pablo Maffeo and Kelechi Iheanacho - but it would be nice to see some of them on the field a bit more. They only got one minute between them as Iheanacho came on at the end, even though the game had long seemed in the bag.

WHO'S UP NEXT?

Crystal Palace v Manchester City (Premier League, September 12)

Watford v Swansea (Premier League, September 12)

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