Manchester City have stuttered once more this season, with the visit of Everton to the Etihad Stadium ending 1-1 as inconsistency has told again. With just one victory in their last 13, Pep Guardiola's men are failing to turn dominance into wins.
Follow Playing for 90 on X (Twitter).
The home side took a 14th-minute lead through Bernardo Silva, but Iliman Ndiaye punished a slack defense just nine minutes before halftime. City enjoyed the lion's share of possession and created chances thereafter but could not force the lead back.
Haaland vs Pickford
One of the defining moments in the game came early in the second half when Erling Haaland missed a penalty. Everton's goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a brilliant save, thwarting the Norwegian's attempt to restore City's lead. In doing so, Pickford became the first goalkeeper to deny Haaland from the penalty spot in the Premier League. This is now Haaland's second penalty miss in the competition.
Jordan Pickford's display will live long in the memory as he made his seventh Premier League penalty save for Everton, drawing him level with Tim Howard on the club record. "Jordan made a lot of good decisions today. Overall, I'm pleased with the performance and the point we earned," said Sean Dyche after the game.
A fragile defense and troubling stats
Gone are the days when Manchester City boasted one of the tightest defenses in Europe. Leaks started to appear in their backline, and since November, they have shipped 26, 62 in total during 2024-their highest count since 2016. In nine matches this campaign, they have let in nine goals after scoring first; that is one per game. It is their poorest defensive display since the 2005/06 season.
Guardiola accepted the realities, saying, "Of course, we need results, and we haven't been getting them. The team played very well again in all departments but, unfortunately, we couldn't win. Sometimes we managed to win every three days, week after week, and now the situation is completely the opposite. We accept it. It's life. Move on." Everton digs its feet in
On the other hand, Everton stole an important away draw. Sean Dyche's men were solid, holding back City's intense pressure and also capitalizing on their defensive slackers. The draw catapulted Everton to 15th, five points from the bottom. But Dyche remains cautious. "I was worried coming here today because at some point, they're going to hurt someone. But I felt we handled it well," he said. "Great energy from the players. We defended the penalty, and credit goes to Jordan [Pickford] and the analysis team."
The Premier League impact
A result that left Manchester City seventh, but with their place liable to be very temporary-so games in hand for the likes of Newcastle and Aston Villa-but City could fall further, the challenge for Guardiola is to recover confidence and to sort out the screaming weaknesses. For Everton, it was a reminder that organisation and collective spirit can take them through tricky periods, clear of danger.