26 December 2024
Man City 1 Everton 1
It has been a season to forget so far for Man City. They look a shadow of their former selves and were not only a long way off the leaders, they were still playing catchup on the teams in the top four. Something needed to change soon or this season was going to be a write-off. They could ill-afford to not to have Champions League football next season.
The visitors Everton had kept five clean sheets in their last six games and came to The Etihad full of confidence. Guardiola sat in his seat awaiting kick-off with his legs twitching like a recovering addict who had just started thinking about how good drugs were. He must feel like the majority of the country this time of year, dreading having to go to work and contemplating putting his ‘sick voice’ on.
Man City forced an early corner and Gvardiol rose at the near post to meet it. He seemed to do everything right but saw his effort come crashing back off the woodwork, with Pickford rooted to the spot. The defender has become a bit of a scoring sensation for the hosts since joining and looked more likely to notch than Haaland lately.
Guardiola’s side were dominating the ball but didn’t seem to know what to do with it or how to create chances. As a ball was played into the box by Doku, Bernardo Silva slid in to try and cross it but Branthwaite got a telling deflection that took it past Pickford and into the far corner. The Etihad erupted as some of the fans gave it a Rio Ferdinand ‘we’re back!’ to the person sat next to them.
They should have doubled their lead when Foden played the ball into the Portuguese attacker. He tried to hit a first-time shot with the outside of his left-foot. He hadn’t caught it quite right and his shot fizzed past the far post. At this point it seemed like City were going to add more goals and put this game out of sight of the visitors.
Sadly for the hosts, Everton did not seem to receive that memo. As The Toffees launched a cross into the box, Man City were caught ball-watching. It came through to Ndiaye at the back post, who took one touch to steady himself, before striking a superb half-volley into the far corner. All of the stadium fell silent apart from the travelling fans who were celebrating like their lives depended on it.
After the interval Guardiola’s side tried to turn the screw. As a ball was played into the fast post, it was half cleared and dropped to Savinho. He struck it sweetly on the half volley but Pickford made a good save to deny him, before Kovacic dragged his follow-up shot narrowly wide of the target. At this point the hosts seemed fired up to make sure of the win.
Savinho was causing all sorts of problems with his trickery for The Toffees. He took it past Mykolenko as the Ukrainian caught him on the knee with his attempted clearance. The referee did not have to think about it for long before pointing to the penalty spot. This seemed like the little bit of luck the hosts needed to get back to winning ways.
Haaland stepped up to take it and drilled it towards the bottom corner. Pickford guessed right as he saved it before the rebound was sent goalwards for the Norwegian to head home. They didn’t even have time to celebrate before the flag went up for offside. It seemed like justice after The Toffees’ keeper made such a good save to keep the penalty out.
Man City huffed and puffed but there was none of the killer instinct we have got used to seeing in previous seasons. They are a long way off ending this dreadful run and you would have to say any title charge is probably already over. They are currently 14 points behind leaders Liverpool, with The Reds still having a game in hand also.
This will be seen as a great result for The Toffees. All too often they have struggled to get anything out of games when they visit the bigger teams. In their last three games they have visited The Emirates and The Etihad and come away with two very credible draws. If they can work out how to score more goals, they could be a threat to anyone.
Despite these results, The Toffees are still only three points ahead of the relegation places. There is still plenty of work for Sean Dyche to do but these results will have given the new owners some hope that they can transform this club. Although gone are the days where you can lavishly buy a whole new squad without facing some serious PSR charges.
As for Man City, Pep Guardiola must be wondering what has happened to his squad. It is like they have completely forgotten how to play football. The pressure continues to build on the Spaniard but only a madman would ever suggest that the champions will sack their most successful manager. He is as close to bulletproof as you get in the modern game.
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