There is still no light at the end of the tunnel for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.
The ailing champions endured another frustrating afternoon as Everton secured a point at the Etihad, with Jordan Pickford’s penalty save from Erling Haaland early in the second half deepening the champions’ gloom. City’s recent record now reads one win in 13 games in all competitions, with their title defence fizzling out with every outing.
Much of this felt rather familiar, with bright starts in both halves proving deceptive. Bernardo Silva prodded the hosts ahead early on, latching on to Jeremy Doku’s pass with his shot deflecting up off Jarrad Branthwaite and beyond Pickford. Yet, rather than wilting, Everton resisted and, 10 minutes before the break, Iliman Ndiaye conjured a stunning equaliser.
The home side injected greater urgency after the break and were awarded a penalty for Vitalii Mykolenko’s challenge on Savinho, only for Pickford to deny Haaland. That rather knocked the stuffing out of them and, with the visitors posing a worrying threat on the counter attack, Everton’s point felt well merited.
Thom Harris dissects the key talking points from the Etihad stadium.
Where do Manchester City go from here?
Pep Guardiola caused a stir on social media as his pre-match interview with Amazon Prime filtered through to the masses. “We have to add players, definitely,” he said of the January transfer window. “Even our players are aware of our situation and what we need to do.”
It’s not so much the quality of players at Guardiola’s disposal but the quantity that has caused problems. The manager even hinted that his small squad preference might have to be reconsidered, as injuries to key players in defence — and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri — continue to hamper his tactical plans.
2017 – Today’s Manchester City matchday squad is the first for a Premier League game to not feature at least one of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ederson or Jack Grealish since May 13 2017, a 2-1 win over Leicester. Absent.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2024
City have looked weak in midfield, with Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo occupying those positions in the defensive shape, but there’s a feeling Guardiola has had little choice but to persist. Mateo Kovacic came into midfield against Everton — benching Gundogan in the league for the first time in two months — but City were still lacking in the middle, with Seamus Coleman skipping past the Croatian in the first half.
This was another dire day for City, but fans — and players — might take solace at the idea of a few new faces coming in.
Guardiola and his players endured another difficult afternoon (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
When were City at their most convincing?
Everton had ground out consecutive 0-0 draws against Chelsea and Arsenal, so Guardiola seemed keen to avoid getting bogged down in a 90-minute slog for the opening goal. The approach was distinctly “all-out-attack” from the off.
Where City usually bring one of their full-backs into midfield while they build attacks, both Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol were instructed to push high and wide in the early stages, leaving Kovacic to drop between the centre-backs and form a situational back three. Guardiola will have felt reasonably confident that Everton would defend in a 4-4-2, so he looked to stretch those four defenders wide and create gaps between centre-back and full-back for some of City’s dangerous central attackers to break through.
City’s shape almost looked like a 3-0-7 when they attacked, and Everton struggled to deal with those numbers early on. Gvardiol hit the post with a powerful header after three minutes — charging through that gap and into the penalty area — while Haaland had a shot blocked in a crowded penalty area shortly after.
Bernardo Silva celebrates securing City an early lead (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
It was City’s wingers who enjoyed the extra support the most.
Isolated and without runners last week at Villa Park, both Savinho and Doku were aggressive and combined with their full-backs down the flank. It was Doku’s positive run that created Bernardo’s opener, and Savinho’s foray forward early in the second half — when City were similarly positive — that won the penalty that Haaland eventually missed.
On another day full of frustrations for City, they did look a little more threatening when they threw caution to the wind.
How fragile did their confidence look?
Not so much for the frustrating result, or even the performance — but this felt like a game full of the little things that could only happen on a hapless winless streak.
The reasoning behind Guardiola’s game-management made sense, and his tweak to bring Lewis into midfield during the build-up after that 15-minute flurry at the start of the game was designed to give City more control after taking the lead. It largely did, until a moment of quality in their defensive penalty area outshone anything that they could conjure going the other way.
Bernardo Silva and Nathan Ake digest Everton’s equaliser (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
Ndiaye’s equaliser was inspired — finding the far corner with a perfect outside-of-the-boot shot just three minutes after Bernardo scuffed a similar attempt of his own — but it was also Everton’s first involvement in the box all game. Haaland’s second-half penalty miss was only his fourth in a City shirt, having scored 18 others during his prolific spell in Manchester, while they haven’t missed more than their four Opta-defined ‘big chances’ in a Premier League game since a 3-1 win over West Ham in September 2023.
Had City won, games against Leicester City and West Ham United over the next 10 days would have looked like chances to push on. As it is, the rut continues.
Haaland’s frustration is clear (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
What did Pep Guardiola say?
We will bring you the Manchester City manager’s post-match assessment after the conclusion of his press conference.
Guardiola encourages his players from the sidelines (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
What next for Manchester City?
Sunday, December 29: Leicester City (away), Premier League, 2:30pm UK, 9:30am ET
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(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
