Sean Dyche's Everton may need another win to stay in the Premier League. Photo: PA/David Davies
Everton and Manchester City were identical twins. Two Northwest clubs next door' shadows hungry for resources to rise to the same global status as Liverpool and Manchester United.
In times of need, they held out hope for a return to their glory days, knowing that with the vision, experience, and sufficient funds to rebuild their infrastructure, they could compete.
City fans are now living the dream. Everton still want to escape their nightmare.
Visiting fans arriving at Goodison Park on Sunday can look around and remember who they once were when they lost those relegation battles at their worst years on Maine Road, when they longed for a new modern stadium and ambitious, competent advice.
Everton fans will look at City and see what they could be if they had even a modicum of their football and legal experience. Everton might never have had the purchasing power to hire Pep Guardiola or sign Erling Haaland, but if Farhad Moshiri's money had been spent wisely, they wouldn't have been in such a precarious position on and off the pitch.< /p>
Whatever the criticism of City, given the allegations against them by the Premier League, no one can argue with the quality of their football and recruitment. Everton have the same cost issues but the same results and performance.
That's why the two clubs have been on very different trajectories since the buyout. Now they meet in what is arguably their most pivotal meeting ever: City's top-down superiority has put them on the brink of a historic treble, and Everton's poor leadership has put them on the brink of disaster.
The result of the league match rarely has such far-reaching consequences for both parties.
City's recent victory over Arsenal was the biggest game of the season in terms of a title race, but in another way Sunday has even more meaning.
Some fixtures have added value due to their impact on the individual season . Everton vs City is a big deal in terms of clubs. place in history. Treble City or Everton's relegation would be their top and bottom stage respectively.
When was the last time English football hosted a game between its two biggest and most historic clubs with such weight at both ends of the Premier League?
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are now aiming to emulate Manchester United's 1999 treble victory Credit & Copyright: Getty Images/Isaac Parkin
If there is a winner, managers and players will say that there is still a lot to be done, but the fans will consider the mission accomplished and will celebrate victory in the cup final.
It is impossible to imagine that City lost four points in any of their remaining games after Goodison and Everton can't lose if they win an unlikely win.
City are on the verge of living up to the most glorious chapter of English football.
After Goodison, the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid and the FA Cup final against United will be the last obstacles to the treble. Given the time between two emotionally and physically challenging European games — and the context in terms of how fired up the opposition is — the trip to Everton could be the toughest remaining game in City's quest.
When the warm-up for the title, City fans rated Arsenal's match list and, in addition to playing against each other, chose two banana peels; Liverpool and Newcastle United away.
Similarly, Arsenal were optimistic about City's trips to Everton and Brighton. They know it's now or never for a miss, especially since City can afford to lose points in at least one of their matches. Beat Everton and it doesn't matter if they draw or lose against Brighton.
Four days ago City seemed like the perfect time to move to Merseyside. Everton fans resigned themselves to their fate after Newcastle's home kick.
Now they were full of enthusiasm for the last push in the last two games with Goodison because Everton's victory over Brighton was the standout result of this Premier League season, with the team with the fewest points beating a team that still had a chance of qualifying. to the big leagues. Champions League. If someone who didn't know what happened in the match were told that it ended 5-1, they would assume that Brighton won.
The only manager in the country as pleased as Sean Dyche, amazing Everton. Mikel Arteta will perform.
It's a cliche to say that a team is «playing for the future». In Everton's case, that sounds like an understatement. It's well-documented what the downfall means for Everton, the departure of players and a major financial blow to the club, which is already under investigation for allegedly overspending.
Last week, Dyche talked about rebuilding Everton, no matter what division they are in. He spoke well, but also sounded idealistic, assuming that if the worst happened, Moshiri would trust him to lead the team. Let's not forget that Moshiri spent three days trying to convince Marcelo Bielsa to accept the job before Dyche was confirmed.
The nature of the win at Brighton — performance as much as result — changed the rules games. , not only in terms of the short term future of Everton's Premier League, but also Dyche's hopes for realizing the long term vision.
Everton showed one of the counter-attacking games of the season in Brighton. Credit: AFP/Glyn Kirk
If he completes his rescue, I'm sure many will look back on Monday and say that was the night Dyche won the fans' trust. who were starting to wonder if he was the right coach for the current circumstances. Make no mistake, the murmuring began with questions about team selection and defensive vulnerabilities.
Within 90 minutes, a load was lifted at Amex Stadium and the gray skies over Goodison Park cleared. At least it looks like Everton won't go down without a fight. This is the minimum expected when Dyche took over.
The mood on the eve of Sunday has completely changed, the intensity of visitors this weekend has risen to a new level.
On the field between Everton and City have nothing to do with it anymore. Aside from Everton staying in the top flight, Everton's only consolation for another terrible season is that Haaland is unlikely to break Dixie Dean's single-campaign goalscoring record.
Whatever happened to City, Everton will have extra chances to escape Wolverhampton and Bournemouth.
But I suspect that Guardiola's team will have to fight as hard as they have all season to earn three points.
A win for Everton guarantees Dyche the chance to lead the club to a brighter future.
If City win, there will no longer be any belief that they can win the treble. It will become an expectation that they will do it.
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