Welcome back to the Soul of Sport. In this episode of the series, ANDY HOOPER was at Goodison Park to take in Manchester City‘s crucial league clash with Everton.
On paper, it looked like a potential banana-skin fixture for Pep Guardiola’s men against an Everton side coming off the back of a 5-1 win against Brighton. But City made light work of the Toffees, with an Ilkay Gundogan brace and another Erling Haaland goal sealing a 3-0 win.
The result leaves Everton just a point above the bottom three, and it remains uncertain as to whether they will play their final season at Goodison Park in the Premier League before they move into their new stadium next year. Our man was on hand to capture the best moments of the day using a Nikon Z9 camera, with 70-200mm lens.
City supporters were in full voice throughout the game as their side moved closer to another Premier League title
The day had started with Everton having reasons to be optimistic after beating Brighton 5-1 at the Amex Stadium last Monday
Children were playing football on the streets outside Goodison Park ahead of the Sunday afternoon kick-off
A win would have edged Everton nearer to safety, and young fans were kitted out as they made their way to Goodison Park
Ilkay Gundogan (left) was Man City’s star man, scoring twice and registering an assist at Goodison Park on Sunday
One young fan was wearing a James Tarkowski shirt as he kicked a ball about in front of Everton’s famous stadium
Plenty of preparation goes into a matchday, with locals setting up their stalls long before the action got underway
Another stall is set up hours before kick-off, with scarves, flags and badges able to bought by home fans
Security also have to be on hand hours before kick-off to ensure fans can enter the stadium safely when they take their seats
The conditions were perfect ahead of kick-off, with clear blue skies above Goodison Park for the afternoon encounter
The result could have been even worse for Everton after Jordan Pickford was fortunate not to concede a penalty for bringing down Erling Haaland in the second half
Fans were able to grab some food from the local cafe before the game ahead of the 2pm kick-off
One young fan looked particularly excited for the game as they had some food in the local chip shop prior to kick-off
Fans tucked into some pre-match fish and chips before heading down to the stadium to find their seats
One fan had their lunch in front of one stand that shows some of Everton’s iconic signings from over the years
It was all smiles before kick-off as supporters tucked into some chips prior to watching their side take on the champions
It wasn’t all about fish and chips, as one supporter opted to go for a helping of pie and beans to go with their chips
There was also time for fans to have a drink at the Winslow Hotel as they counted down the minutes until kick-off
Everton fans are very proud of their club, as this road sign shows with a number of Everton stickers on it
One supporter wore a scarf with hundreds of Everton badges on it as they played on their phone prior to kick-off
Hundreds of Everton badges were available to be bought prior to kick-off from a local stall
A fan looks through old match programmes at the St Luke Church, highlighting the history of one of England’s biggest clubs
The St Luke Church also has other pieces of memorabilia for fans to look at and potentially buy
The programme stall for the Man City game was set up long ahead of kick-off just outside the Goodison Park turnstiles
A young fan looks through the programme before heading inside the stadium to watch the game
Statues of Everton heroes Colin Harvey, Alan Ball and Howard Kendall outside Goodison Park
Everton fans unveiled a huge banner from one stand as the players took to the pitch on Sunday afternoon
Erling Haaland had ’35’ stitched on his boots (the number of Premier League goals he’d scored this season prior to kick-off). He went on to move to 36 goals by the end of Sunday’s match
Everton fans had very little to cheer about as Man City dominated for long periods of Sunday’s match
One supporter got to his feet to encourage his team, but City took control as they scored two quickfire goals in the latter stages of the first half
A young fan is left looking deflated after the game, with Everton still yet to secure their Premier League status for next season
