Gundogan's masterclass moves City closer to the championship.

Ilkay Gundogan scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Everton on Sunday, keeping them in the relegation fight as Manchester City inched closer to defending their Premier League title.

With three games left for both teams, Pep Guardiola's team pulls four points ahead of Arsenal, who are in action later at home against Brighton.

Five points from their remaining games will likely be sufficient for City to win their fifth championship in six seasons due to their superior goal differential.

In the event that Leicester defeats Liverpool on Monday, Everton will only be one point clear of the bottom three.

In contrast to the Toffees' struggles, City are still on track to win a treble and could afford the luxury of giving some of their stars an afternoon off before Wednesday's second leg of the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid.

John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jack Grealish were all left on the bench as Guardiola made four adjustments to the team that drew 1-1 in the first leg in the Spanish capital on Tuesday.

The visitors took 35 minutes to settle in, by which time they ought to have trailed after Mason Holgate miraculously missed a golden opportunity to start the scoring after James Tarkowski headed down a corner.

After Holgate's sitter, the game was over as a competition in three minutes.

Despite scoring twice in last weekend's 2-1 victory over Leeds, Gundogan received harsh words from Guardiola after missing a late penalty that would have given him a chance to complete his hat-trick. Erling Haaland had given the midfielder the opportunity.

Gundogan made amends by controlling Riyad Mahrez's cross in one fluid motion, flicking it home, and ending the tie.

Later, he set up the second goal with a floated cross, which allowed Haaland to score his 52nd goal of the year with just three touches left in the game's first 39 minutes.

Everton manager Sean Dyche demonstrated that he, too, was already considering his team's final two games of the season by substituting Neal Maupay for talismanic striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has missed the majority of the season due to injury.

To prepare for the midweek visit of the European champions, Guardiola could not have asked for a more composed second half as Gundogan's second brilliant moment made it 3-0 six minutes after the break.

With his contract expiring at the end of the current campaign and Barcelona reportedly ready to pounce on a free transfer, the 32-year-old is likely in the final month of his seven-year stay in Manchester, but he appears to be going out on a high note.

For his ninth goal of the year, Gundogan curled a free-kick past Jordan Pickford's last-ditch attempt.

In the fight to avoid the drop, goal differential may be the deciding factor, and Everton at least managed to stop the bleeding at three.

In fact, Amadou Onana's header that crashed back off the crossbar during the final period gave the home team their best chance to score.