There is still no light at the end of the tunnel for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.
The long-suffering champions endured another frustrating afternoon as Everton claimed a point at the Etihad, with Jordan Pickford’s penalty save off Erling Haaland early in the second half adding to the champions’ sadness. City’s recent record now equates to one win in thirteen games in all competitions, with their name defense losing steam with the departure.
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Much of this looked familiar, and bright starts in both halves proved deceptive. Bernardo Silva put the hosts ahead early on, taking advantage of a Jeremy Doku pass with his shot deflecting towards Jarrad Branthwaite and past Pickford. However, Everton resisted and, 10 minutes before half-time, Iliman Ndiaye achieved a very good equalizer.
The home side injected more urgency after the break and were awarded a penalty for Vitalii Mykolenko’s tackle on Savinho, but Pickford turned Haaland away. That left them out and, with the visitors posing a worrying risk on the counterattack, Everton’s point seemed well deserved.
Thom Harris discusses the main problems with speaking at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola caused a stir on social media when his pre-match interview with Amazon Prime was broadcast in the mainstream media. “We want to move players up,” he said of the January transfer window. “Even our players are aware of our scenario and what I want 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.
– 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.
It’s another disastrous day for City, but fans (and players) can take solace in the arrival of some new faces.
Everton had recorded consecutive 0-0 draws against Chelsea and Arsenal, so Guardiola looked keen to avoid getting bogged down in a 90-minute fight for the first goal. The technique is obviously an “all-out attack” from the beginning.
While City regularly bring one of their full-backs into midfield as they build attacks, Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol were told to push up and to the sides in the early stages, leaving Kovacic to slide between the centre-backs and form a situational back three. Guardiola’s team felt fairly confident that Everton would defend in a 4-4-2, so he looked to spread out those four defenders and create space between the centre-back and full-back to allow some of City’s damaging central attackers to get open. passed.
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City’s form almost looked like a 3-0-7 when they attacked, and Everton struggled to manage those numbers early on. Gvardiol hit the post with a strong header after 3 minutes, charging through that dominance and into the penalty area, while Haaland shortly afterwards saw a shot blocked in a packed penalty field.
It was City’s wingers who benefited the most from the extra support.
Isolated and without runners last week at Villa Park, Savinho and Doku were competitive and combined with their full-backs on the flank. It was Doku’s positive run that created Bernardo’s first game and Savinho’s foray at the start of the second half, when City were in similar fashion. positive: that won the penalty that Haaland finally missed.
On another day full of frustrations for City, they did look a little more threatening when they threw caution to the wind.
Not so much because of the frustrating result, or even because of the functionality; However, it felt like a game full of little things that may just have been due to an unfortunate winless streak.
The reasoning behind Guardiola’s control of the game was logical, and his amendment to bring Lewis into midfield in preparation after that 15-minute flurry at the start of the attack was designed to give City more control after taking the lead. That was largely the case, until a quality moment in their defensive penalty dominance overshadowed anything they could conjure up in the other direction.
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, the matches against Leicester City and West Ham United over the next 10 days would have a good chance of continuing. As it is, the routine continues.
“We play well, but we are at a time when this happens: we create, we grant from the first time they arrive (to the area). But yes, go ahead. The functionality opposed to this team was intelligent offensive and defensively. We shot a lot inside From the criminal area, but unfortunately we could not get the result we wanted.
“Confidence will come with its effects because (the recent race) is in our minds. But the functionality of this team was really good, defensively and offensively. We shot a lot in the penalty area, but unfortunately we couldn’t get the result we wanted. .
Sunday, December 29: Leicester City (away), Premier League, 2:30 p. m. United Kingdom, 9:30 a. m. Eastern Time