Erling Haaland’s second-half brace fired Manchester City to a hard-fought 2-0 win at home to Everton on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s simple,” Pep Guardiola shrugged ahead of the match. “They are players that win games by themselves.” Haaland didn’t quite overhaul Everton singlehandedly but provided the inspiration City needed to break through their admirably stubborn visitors.

A victory on Saturday lunchtime sent City top of the Premier League table for the first time since November – the same month that last brought a goal for Haaland in any competition – ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Burnley this weekend.

The suspended Sean Dyche may have been shackled to the stands on Saturday but his players could not have been more disciplined off the ball if the Everton boss was barking out orders from within the centre circle.

Out of hope more than expectation, Dyche reminded everyone of City’s sporadic fallibilities. “Now and again they might have a soft performance,” he warned, “not too many but they might do.” Yet, City’s lack of a single shot on target, let alone a goal, throughout the opening 45 minutes owed more to Everton’s excellence rather than any dip from the hosts.

The closest City came to piercing Everton’s staunch resolve before the break arrived from a corner in first-half stoppage time, but James Tarkowski – as ever – was there to block Manuel Akanji’s effort.

City didn’t force Jordan Pickford into a single save throughout the opening 70 minutes. By that time, Guardiola had turned to his star-studded bench. Kevin De Bruyne naturally drew the spotlight but Kyle Walker’s arrival proved crucial. City’s only natural full-back in the squad finally allowed the hosts to outnumber Everton’s rigid rearguard with some rare width down the right flank and gave Phil Foden licence to stroll in off the touchline. Foden and Walker combined to win the sequence of corners that led to City’s belated breakthrough.

Ruben Dias rose to meet the initial delivery but a crowd of pink shirts took up a familiar position; namely in the way. Everton had benefitted from the previous sequences of pinball but possession dropped to Haaland on this occasion. Unleashing an instinctive swipe with his weaker right foot, Haaland battered City into the lead with his first goal in three months.

Everton pushed forward in desperate search of an equaliser, leaving yawning chasms between the lines of midfield and defence that had been so tightly stitched for so much of the afternoon. De Bruyne happily picnicked in the open space, sliding the ball through for Haaland to bound on to. Finally afforded room to gather speed, Haaland bounced the impressive Jarrad Branthwaite to the turf before doubling his and City’s haul with five minutes remaining.

As City racked up a tenth successive win across all competitions, the champions took on an even more ominous shimmer with Haaland back among the goals.

GK: Ederson – 6/10 – Took a whack to the face early in the match but had a clear head when playing through Everton’s press.

RB: John Stones – 4/10 – Stepping into midfield with less purpose than he usually shows, only sporadically making a meaningful contribution from this advanced area.

CB: Ruben Dias – 6/10 – Embraced the physical battle with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, utterly unfazed after getting body-slammed on to the sidelines by Everton’s number nine in the first half.

CB: Nathan Ake – 5/10 – Afforded licence to push down the left wing at times but didn’t overly disrupt the visitors.

LB: Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – Almost permanently stationed in midfield, whether that was pushing forward from left-back, his starting position, or the middle of the backline.

CM: Matheus Nunes – 5/10 – A picture of perpetual motion, constantly breaking the lines of Everton’s blockade with speedy darts but rarely picked out by his teammates.

CM: Rodri – 6/10 – Given space at the base of midfield by City’s wandering full-backs but didn’t take full advantage.

CM: Julian Alvarez – 4/10 – Hasty and hurried whenever he got hold of the ball.

RW: Phil Foden – 5/10 – Peripheral first-half figure and shifted decidedly infield after the break.

ST: Erling Haaland – 9/10 – Swarmed whenever he had a rare touch of the ball but kept his patience to remain as potent as ever.

LW: Jeremy Doku – 7/10 – City’s sparkiest performer throughout, singlehandedly unbalancing Everton by beating his man.

SUB: Kevin De Bruyne (57′ for Nunes) – 7/10 – On the pitch for barely half an hour and clocked up yet another assist.

SUB: Kyle Walker (57′ for Akanji) – 6/10 – The arrival of a City’s captain allowed Foden to drift infield and provided City with more permanent width.

SUB: Bernardo Silva (77′ for Alvarez) – 5/10

SUB: Jack Grealish (87′ for Doku) – N/A

Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Josko Gvardiol, Jacob Wright, Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb

Pep Guardiola – 7/10 – Thoroughly unimpressed by his side’s toothless first-half display but had the luxury of calling upon a fully-stocked bench. However, Guardiola deserves credit for choosing the right replacements.

GK: Jordan Pickford – 5/10 – Got a glove to Haaland’s opener but couldn’t handle the power of his strike.

RB: Ben Godfrey – 4/10 – Desperately struggled when isolated against Doku and too far away from Haaland to reignite last season’s feud.

CB: James Tarkowski – 8/10 – Hauled his hulking frame in the way of numerous efforts.

CB: Jarrad Branthwaite – 6/10 – Draped over Haaland like a pink scarf for so much of the game until the deadlock was broken.

LB: Vitaliy Mykolenko – 6/10 – The most eager member of the neon-clad visitors to penetrate the final third, creeping forward whenever the opportunity arose.

RM: Ashley Young – 6/10 – Dutifully tracked back to limit the number of one-on-ones Doku had against Godfrey.

CM: James Garner – 7/10 – Played upon his destructive rather than dextrous skillset to stifle the champions.

CM: Idrissa Gana Gueye – 8/10 – Chomping at the heels of any sky-blue shirt in his general vicinity, Gueye didn’t let the hosts breath on the ball.

LM: Dwight McNeil – 6/10 – Subtly solid on and off the ball.

AM: Jack Harrison – 6/10 – Always sniffing around for any loose touch or pass, the former City player proved a potent nuisance for his former employers.

ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 6/10 – The performance of an eternal optimist, scurrying down endless blind alleys while holding his own despite being invariably outnumbered.

SUB: Seamus Coleman (56′ for Godfrey) – 5/10

SUB: Beto (78′ for Calvert-Lewin) – 4/10

SUB: Amadou Onana (78′ for Young) – 5/10

SUB: Lewis Dobbin (88′ for McNeil) – N/A

SUB: Youssef Chermiti (89′ for Gueye) – N/A

Subs not used: Joao Virginia (GK), Nathan Patterson, Michael Keane, MacKenzie Hunt.

Sean Dyche – 6/10 – Restricted to the stands for his 300th Premier League match, Dyche had the perfect view to appreciate a resolute defensive display for 70 minutes. Will be gravely disappointed that the deadlock was broken at a set piece.