Man City 3-0 Everton: player ratings, heroes, villains and man of match as Toffees go six without a win

Everton’s slump continued as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

The Toffees have now not won in six matches - and worringly lost their past four games.

City monopolised the ball in the first half but had to wait until the 44th minute to break the deadlock through Raheem Sterling.

Pep Guardiola’s men doubled their advantage 10 minutes after the interval through a thunderous long-range strike from Rodri.

And the home side put the gloss on their victory through Bernado Silva on 85 minutes.

The heroes

- Raheem Sterling: there’s been plenty of talk about the England man’s future of late. But Sterling responded to that speculation with an outstanding performance on his return to the starting line-up. He gave Everton all sorts of problems from the first whistle and his finish to open the scoring was as nonchalant as they come.

- Joao Cancelo: will there be a better assist this season? Probably not. The City left-back’s pass with the outside of his boot to tee-up Sterling was out of the top drawer.

- Rodri: the midfielder was excellent all game. He kept things ticking for City in the engine room by ensuring Everton couldn’t get out when they looked to break. Then he sealed all three points for the home side with an unstoppable hit that’ll be a contender for goal of the month, at a minimum. Man of the match.

The villains

- Lucas Digne:the left-back’s slump in form continues. He was given the runaround by Sterling from the get-go, committing a foul after being beaten in the first minute. Then Digne failed to track the run of Sterling, which allowed him to creep into acres of space and net.

- Richarlison: the Brazilian was understandably frustrated feeding off scraps throughout. But a rash challenge in the 31st minute earned him a fifth yellow card of the season and will now serve a one-match suspension. A senseless thing to do given Everton’s problems. Richarlison also got a volley all wrong on a rare sight of goal that could have reduced the deficit.

- Rafa Benitez: there were plenty of mitigating circumstances for Everton at City given their injury problems and then Demarai Gray limping out. But the manner of the visitors’ performance, sitting back and scarcely having a go at City, will have left plenty of fans frustrated. Many would argue they’d rather have their side go out on their shield.

Player ratings

Man City (4-3-3): Ederson 6, Walker 7, Stones 6, Laporte 6 (Ake 76), Cancelo 8, Rodrigo 8, Gundogan 7, Bernardo 7, Palmer 7 (McAtee 87), Sterling 8, Foden 7 (Mahrez 58; 6).

Everton (4-1-4-1): Pickford 5, Coleman 4, Keane 4, Godfrey 4, Digne 3, Delph 4 (Rondon 63; 4), Allan 4 (Onyango 90), Townsend 5, Gordon 5, Richarlison 4, Gray 5 (Iwobi 17; 3).

What’s Everton’s next fixture?

The Toffees are back in action at the same time next week.

Benitez’s troops make the trip to Brentford, who drew 3-3 at Newcastle on Saturday.