Man City vs Everton LIVE: Result and reaction as City slip again with Pickford saving Haaland penalty
Man City 1-1 Everton: Bernardo Silva gave City the lead but Iliman Ndiaye equalised and Pickford repelled Haaland’s spot-kick to add to City’s woe
Bernardo Silva scored an early goal but struggling Manchester City could only muster a single point in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Everton to kick off a full slate of Boxing Day games.
City’s slump has seen them win just once in their last 13 matches across all competitions and they provisionally sit sixth in the table with 28 points, 11 below leaders Liverpool who have two games in hand. Everton are 15th, five points above the drop zone.
In the 14th minute, Jeremy Doku played a ball in behind the Toffees’ defence and Silva’s deflected shot found the far corner but Iliman Ndiaye drew Everton level when he took a touch to settle the ball, then unleashed a half-volley into the top right corner.
City looked set to retake the lead when Erling Haaland stepped up to the penalty spot in the second half after Seamus Coleman’s tackle on Savinho but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford dived correctly to safe the shot. Haaland headed home the rebound but it was chalked off for offside.
Relive all the action from the Etihad with our live blog below:
Man City 0-0 Everton, 14 mins
Savinho charges down the right flank and cuts infield but should’ve pulled the trigger earlier as he eventually has the ball bundled away from him by Doucoure on the edge of the box.
Man City 0-0 Everton, 12 mins
City dominating possession with Everton happy to sit back and soak it up, backing themselves to repel the advances of Guardiola’s men. They’ve been very successful with that tactic in recent weeks, to be fair.
Everton also happy to go long from Pickford - no pathological insistence on playing everything short. This game will be a test of patience and effectiveness at breaking down a defence for City.
Haaland fashions hafla yard for himself to shoot but his shot is blocked by a swamr of Toffees players.
Man City 0-0 Everton, 9 mins
Doku shimmies past Tarkowski, who appears to push him to the floor but no foul and play on. City have been badly lacking creativity recently, so Doku and Savinho on the wings will be vital in breaking down a stubborn Everton side today.
Man City 0-0 Everton, 6 mins
Silva loses the nall in possession and Everton counter. Harrison curls in a cross which a jumping Calvert-Lewin throws a foot at but he can’t make contact and it goes out for a goal-kick. Akanji did allow Calvert-Lewin to get in front of him though, which isn’t ideal from a City perspective.
POST! Man City 0-0 Everton, 3 mins
Cirty agonisingly close to scoring early on. They go short with the corner, Foden dinks in the cross and Gvardiol crashes a header off the left post! Pickford was beaten!
A promising start for Guardiola’s men
Man City 0-0 Everton, 2 mins
Nathan Ake lining up at centre-back with Josko Gvardiol at left-back, as you would expect. Everton in their typical 4-5-1.
Decent start form City as Savinho tries a couple of stepovers and has his shot blocked by N’Diaye. City then win a corner
KICK-OFF! Man City 0-0 Everton
Here we go! Underway at the Etihad. Can City arrest their slump against the draw specialists?
Man City v Everton
The players are out and kick-off is imminent in Manchester
Match facts
City have lost nine of their last 12 games in all competitions (W1 D2), as many as they had in their previous 112. Meanwhile, only in 2016/17 (10) and 2019/20 (12) has Pep Guardiola suffered more defeats in a single campaign as manager.
Since the start of November, Manchester City have earned fewer points than any other Premier League side, with four.
Everton have been involved in five of the nine 0-0 draws in the Premier League this season (56 per cent). It’s the Toffees’ most goalless draws in a single campaign since 2008/09.
Only the current top four sides of Liverpool (16), Arsenal (16), Chelsea (19) and Nottingham Forest (19) have conceded fewer Premier League goals this season than Everton (21).
Pep Guardiola reveals how Erling Haaland can rediscover scoring form
Pep Guardiola has stressed Manchester City’s current malaise is not down to one player as he again defended Erling Haaland.
City’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday, the Premier League champions’ ninth defeat in 12 matches in all competitions, saw Haaland fail to score for the fifth time in six outings.
After the game the Norway striker told TNT Sports: “First I’m looking at myself. I haven’t been scoring my chances. I have to do better, I haven’t been good enough.”
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