Just another City day: one hat-trick and a sending-off

Manchester City 3 Everton 1

There may be early doubts about Manchester City's ability to win Premiership battles away from Maine Road but in front of their own supporters Kevin Keegan's side remain a force to be reckoned with.

Easy on the eye and at times willing to throw caution to the wind in their pursuit of success, a Nicolas Anelka hat-trick was enough to provide more thrills and spills and give the home side maximum points against Everton despite a controversial red card from the Kent referee Barry Knight. The predicted emotional roller coaster had already begun.

Keegan and the home faithful were left incensed in the 27th minute when lively winger Shaun Wright-Phillips was sent off by Knight after he felled Gary Naysmith in the box. It was a spot-kick without doubt, but the number of other City defenders inside the area tells its own story.

By this point, the rampaging Anelka had notched the first two of what promises to be a hatful of Premiership goals for his new club. His first, a heavily deflected 25-yard free-kick which wrong-footed Everton's goalkeeper Steve Simonsen after 14 minutes, was followed a minute later by a close-range effort after team mate Marc-Vivien Foé had swung and missed inside the box.

But the dismissal of Wright-Phillips threatened to throw a major spanner in the works for the home side, especially when the reliable David Unsworth calmly tucked away the resulting spot-kick. Keegan, being Keegan, refused to panic as City soaked up pressure for the rest of the contest as the largely ineffective Everton were made to pay for missing several chances as they succumbed to another inspired performance by great Dane Peter Schmeichel.

Hands like dinner plates, Schmeichel was at his very best, preventing the likes of Unsworth, Kevin Campbell and Swede Niclas Alexandersson with several magnificent stops – many as City regrouped in the minutes following the sending off. Referee Knight's decision seemed to strengthen the resolve of Keegan's angry team, though, as the usual tricks and flicks of his midfield duo Eyal Berkovic and Ali Benarbia were replaced by steely performances by the likes of Foé and Chinese star Sun Jihai.

Everton's manager, Davies Moyes, threw on teenage starlet Wayne Rooney and Brazilian striker Juliano Rodrigo in the second half in the forlorn hope of finding a way back, but it was to no avail as City claimed the points despite their numerical disadvantage.

It was left to Frenchman Anelka to put the final nail in Everton's coffin as he took full advantage of poor control by Naysmith to fire in a killer third with five minutes remaining. A piercing run from just inside the opposition half ended with a rasping angled drive that nestled in the net to calm the nerves of 30,000 Mancuncians.

Keegan, though, was till calling for justice afterwards. "The referee said that he had sent Wright-Phillips off for a professional foul and that Naysmith was clean through, but a booking and a penalty would have been a more sensible outcome," he said.

"I hope the decision gets reversed but it could have cost us big time and we got away with it," he added. "It was a tremendous performance by us in a strange game as we had to dig in after the dismissal and although we didn't have much of the ball we kept them at bay."

Keegan also singled out his leading marksman Anelka for praise, and predicted that the former Arsenal and Liverpool striker would be one of the bargains of the summer.

He said: "The great thing he gives us is plenty of energy and effort. I can remember him chasing back 70 yards to clear the ball and that tells you a lot about the player. He'll get goals this season and I think he's now at the right club."

Manchester City 3
Anelka 14, 16, 85

Everton 1
Unsworth pen 29

Half-time: 2-1 Attendance: 34,835