Man City's new unsung hero bails out Pep Guardiola again in last-gasp Everton win

Nico O'Reilly appears to be taking it upon himself to prevent ’s season from hell coming to a nightmare conclusion. The 20-year-old Mancunian has come up with key goals and assists during City’s march to a seventh successive FA Cup semi-final.

And when he arrived in Jordan Pickford’s six-yard box late in the game to ram home Matheus Nunes’ driven cross, ’s celebration said it all. City are now in a position where every single point matters as they chase down a top-five finish and a place in the Champions League.

And until O’Reilly abandoned his left-back position to do a passable impression of Erling Haaland, they were set to leave Goodison Park for the last time without laying a glove on an Everton team that has nothing to play for but pride.

Substitute Mateo Kovacic made the game safe by then beating Pickford from 20 yards. But it was O’Reilly, the kid who joined City’s academy as an eight year old, who broke the home side’s resistance.

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City’s need for the spoils was desperate. They may well lift the FA Cup - but the need to qualify for the Champions League is paramount with Guardiola plotting a major summer rebuild.

What made their need even more acute was the sight of rivals Manchester United reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League during the week. If United go all the way they will be rewarded with a return to Europe’s elite at the end of a campaign that threatens to leave them with their lowest league finish for 50 years ago.

City have finished above United in every one of the 12 seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. They celebrated ‘St Beneath Us Day’ 2025 last Sunday when a 4-1 thrashing at Newcastle left United floundering in 14th place.

David Moyes has now failed to win any of his last 16 Premier League meetings with the Blues. But the Scot will feel his team didn’t deserve to be sunk by City's devastating late double. Everton won every 50-50 challenge. They carried most of the threat and went close when James Tarkowski looped a first-half header against the post.

Scousers are quite rightly proud of their football heritage. Goodison has paid homage to its own champions during over its 133-year existence - but celebrations in recent seasons have involved derby wins and relegation escapes rather than titles and trophies.

Six members of the team that won the title and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1985 came out to take one final bow on their old stomping ground during the interval. But for Evertonians everywhere, there is a desperation to start making more history when they set up camp at the magnificent new stadium on the banks of the Mersey next season.

Guardiola’s first experience of the place ended in a 4-0 hammering eight years ago. But he has now won every one of his nine subsequent visits. The Catalan has some serious work to do in the summer. Kevin De Bruyne was City’s most productive midfielder and only Jake O’Brien’s brave headed block prevented him finding the bottom corner with a measured left-foot finish just before half-time. Strange then that City have chosen not to renew the Belgian’s contract.

Anyone who saw Ilkay Gundogan’s contribution to City’s Treble season wouldn’t have recognised him plodding around the midfield misplacing passes. Bernardo Silva was no better.

Most of the entertainment in the first half came from the City fans housed in the Bullens Road Stand when they mocked the home side for having points deducted last season while the verdict on the allegations of financial misconduct levelled against their own club is still to be announced.

They didn’t have much to cheer - until one of their own took matters into his own hands.

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