City were held to a draw by Koeman’s Everton and after watching some sublime play from the home side, it felt like two points lost.
Guardiola’s unpredictability came to light once more as he set his versatile City team up in a three-at-the-back formation. Surprises included the exclusion of Sergio Aguero and the inclusion of recently injured Kevin De Bruyne.
City were utterly dominant in the first-half and camped in the Everton quarter for the majority. They remained patient until David Silva’s trickery earned his side a penalty from Phil Jagielka’s foul. Unfortunately De Bruyne failed to convert the spot-kick and the two sides went into the break all-square.
The Sky Blues came out from the interval in a commanding fashion once more but were still lacking any clear cut chances. And then out-of-nowhere, Lukaku found himself in a one-on-one situation with Gael Clichy and breezed past the Frenchman before slotting home into the bottom right for a shock lead.
Jagielka sloppily gave away his second penalty but again it was saved, Aguero the culprit this time. It looked to be one of those days…enter Nolito. On his 30th birthday, the Spaniard’s first-touch was a well timed header. Silva’s ball was pin-point and Nolito made it impossible for Stekelenburg to save.
Ten minutes from time and De Bruyne hit a beauty but it was matched once more from the inspired Stekelenburg. Vincent Kompany was thrown on up front, which was nice to see, but they couldn’t break down the away side to find a winner.
Here’s how I rate the lads from today’s draw.
Claudio Bravo
A quiet afternoon in truth but answered the questions asked by Deulofeu. Can’t be blamed for the Everton goal, he will come away feeling annoyed he didn’t keep a deserved clean sheet.
6/10
Nicolas Otamendi
Commanded the Everton attackers well and built up City attacks. Looked comfortable in a new system.
7/10
John Stones
Remained calm against his old side and stuck centrally of the three-back. Dealt with Lukaku during Everton counter attempts with ease. Dove in on Bolasie for the Everton goal which ended up costing us.
6/10
Gael Clichy
Wasn’t tested too much but completely failed in dealing with Lukaku during the Everton opener.
5/10
Fernandinho
Cleaned things up in the middle of the park, roamed from box to box when needed as he usually does.
7/10
Leroy Sane
His battle with Oviedo down the right side was a complete miss-match in the German’s favour. Showed his strength and pace, hopefully Sane can nail down a place in the City team because his attributes look perfect for the system.
8/10
Raheem Sterling
Frequently switched sides with counterpart Sane and pinned his fullback out wide which didn’t allow the Everton defenders to bomb on like they usually do.
7/10
Ilkay Gundogan
Enjoyed acres of space at times which his team-mates created for him and actually sat deeper than usual next to Fernandinho. Passes were crisp and you can sense he has an eye for cutting through balls now.
7/10
Kevin De Bruyne
Maybe risked too soon and couldn’t execute his final pass or shot as well as he usually does. Missed a penalty at the end of the first-half which was also poor and proved to be costly. Good news for City fans that the Belgian made it through the entire match and looks fit for Barcelona mid-week.
6/10
David Silva
Absolutely ran the show in City’s midfield, linked with the wingers well and created space for himself like he always does. Brilliant ball in for the equaliser, best player on the pitch.
9/10
Kelechi Iheanacho
Opted for over Aguero his link-up play was very clean and he dropped deep well. Came close ten minutes into the second-half when Stekelenurg’s reaction save kept him out and the Nigerian was replaced by Aguero on the 55th minute.
6/10
Substitutes
Sergio Aguero – Came on with over half an hour to go, did well to win a penalty but bottled it for the second time this week. Failed to make the impact fans had hoped for when he was subbed on.
5/10
Nolito– scored on his first touch since coming back from his suspension, the perfect arrival.
7/10
Vincent Kompany – came on with minutes remaining, it’s always uplifting to see the captain return but too late for a marking today.