Manchester City’s bid for a 15th successive season of Champions League football was bolstered by two late goals in a 2-0 win at Everton they barely deserved.
The game was meandering towards a draw, which would have made them vulnerable to Chelsea who play rivals Nottingham Forest on Monday, when 20-year-old Nico O’Reilly stabbed home in the 84th minute.
Substitute Mateo Kovacic doubled the lead in added time to open up a four-point cushion over their sixth-placed Stamford Bridge chasers.
But a ninth successive – and final – win at Goodison Park looked unlikely for so long as despite having much more to play for than their hosts, whose survival had been long secured, if not mathematically, they lacked energy, desire and cohesion.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was not fully extended until the 72nd minute when he dived low to his right to stop a shot from Omar Marmoush, who should have scored when a mistake by substitute Michael Keane presented him with a one-on-one only for the England international to stick out an arm.
Then Keane, making his first appearance since early February after a hamstring injury to James Tarkowski, failed to track the run of O’Reilly for the opening goal and from there City found a confidence which had been lacking.
Half-an-hour into the game Vitalii Mykolenko found space on the left behind City’s half-hearted press and Bernardo Silva turned and flung his arms out wide, questioning Matheus Nunes’ position 50 yards behind him. Nunes responded with a similar gesture.
Meanwhile, Everton were winning a corner from which Tarkowski headed against a post.
That was the closest anyone came for the first three-quarters of the game despite Kevin de Bruyne being given the freedom of Goodison Park, roaming everywhere from a nominal false nine position in an attempt to find some space for creativity.
But it made little difference without any intensity from his team-mates, with Savinho unable to get on the end of his far-post cross and then complaining without success he had been impeded by Jake O’Brien.
The Everton defender definitely did intervene late in the half, diving to head De Bruyne’s goalbound shot wide just moments after Jack Harrison felt he should have had a penalty for the ball striking Savinho’s hand.
Surprisingly there were no changes from Pep Guardiola at half-time but the faith he had in his starting XI was not rewarded as Everton restarted quickly with goalkeeper Stefan Ortega’s quick reactions denying Jarrad Branthwaite’s close-range header.
Tarkowski’s departure left Everton’s defence weaker and Keane’s first involvement was to be cautioned for fouling Marmoush, the first booking of the game indicating a general lack of competitiveness.
The last involvement of on-loan Chelsea forward Armando Broja, starting back-to-back games for the first time in three and a half months but doing little to press claims for a permanent move, saw him twice lose out too easily to Josko Gvardiol.
Beto was already stripped by then but it was Abdoulaye Doucoure who threatened next, forcing Ortega to palm his angled drive around the post.
And although Pickford came to Keane’s rescue once, he could not prevent either of the late goals.
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