Man City 1 – 1 Everton
Everton made it a hat-trick of draws against three sides that came into December sitting in the top four with a hard-earned point at the Etihad Stadium.
Iliman Ndiaye cancelled out Bernardo Silva’s opener with a lovely goal, Jordan Pickford saved an Erling Haaland penalty and the Blues spurned a couple of hugely promising chances on the counter-attack late on as the spoils were shared in this Boxing Day clash.
City came into the game in the worst run of form of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career but they appeared to have re-found their groove in the early going this afternoon with some slick movement and an early chance for Joško Gvardiol who planted a third-minute header onto the post off a corner.
The Croatian defender was involved again with 13 minutes gone when he fed the ball to Jeremy Doku and he played it inside to Silva who appeared to attempt to square it across the face of Pickford’s goal but his effort took a horrible deflection off Jarrad Branthwaite’s out-stretched leg and looped into the far corner to hand the hosts the lead.
Everton’s first sight of goal came seven minutes later when Ndiaye slipped a pass square to Orel Mangala but his shot bent high and wide of the target.
At the other end, meanwhile, Haaland was an ever-present threat for balls played over the top for him to chase but in one such instance midway through the first period, Pickford was out smartly to snuff out the danger.
After Idrissa Gueye had tested Stefan Ortega in the 27th minute, Bernardo Silva really should have doubled City’s lead when he arrived to meet a ball delivered into space near the penalty spot but he went for a more elaborate finish with the outside of his boot and missed the target.
Three minutes after that, it was 1-1. Abdouaye Doucouré’s cross from the right grazed Manuel Akanji’s raised knee and fell to Ndiaye who took a quick touch to kill the ball and then caressed it back across Ortega into the far corner.
Guardiola’s increasingly looked to Savinho down their right early in the second half and Pickford had to be alert to parry his crisp half-volley five minutes after the break before Mateo Kovacic lashed the rebound inches wide.
Man City appeared to have been handed their lead back on a platter, however, when Savinho tempted Vitalii Mykolenko into a rash challenge in the box and referee Steve Hooper pointed to the spot.
Seamus Coleman was booked for delaying Halaand’s preparations for the spot-kick and Pickford gave him the eyes and a few off-putting faces before guessing the right way and pushing the Norwegian’s penalty away from goal.
The loose ball was crossed back in for Haaland to simply head into the empty net but he had clearly been in an offside position and the “goal” was ruled out.
Instead it was Everton who almost stole the points. First, in the 67th minute, Doucouré’s far-post volley almost crept in before Rico Lewis diverted it behind.
Then, in the 83rd, another speculative Mangala effort took a wicked deflection and bounced just wide of Ortega’s goal.
Despite the introduction of Kevin de Bruyne, City struggled to make inroads into Everton’s defence and with any guile in the final third, Sean Dyche’s men might well have pitched the points.
Unfortunately, two stoppage-time breakaways came to nothing, with Jack Harrison failing to even work the keeper with the second opportunity.
Still, the Toffees were good value for a point which keeps them unbeaten since that horror show at Old Trafford at the start of the month.