Manchester City played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Everton at the Etihad Stadium, in a game marred with controversial refereeing decisions.
The hosts were playing their first home game of the new Premier League season, and were also showing off the new, renovated facilities around the stadium, including the new look changing room.
City came into this game off the back of 2-0 win away to newly-promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, whereas their opponents Everton defeated Stoke City 1-0 at Goodison Park.
Despite being dominant throughout the game, City conceded the first goal of the match after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s squared pass found Wayne Rooney, who slid the ball between Ederson’s legs from six yards out. Nearing half-time, it went from bad to worse for City as Kyle Walker was adjudged to have barged into Calvert-Lewin when competing for a high ball and received a harsh second yellow card.
In the second half, City made a change by bringing on Raheem Sterling for Gabriel Jesus. Sterling’s renewed pace caused persistent problems for Everton’s resolute defence, leading to a number of opportunities. City were finally awarded for their efforts when Sterling hit a fantastic volley past Everton keeper Jordan Pickford after Mason Holgate weakly headed back into his box. A well-deserved goal after relentless pressure throughout the game.
There would be more late drama when Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was given a harsh second yellow card for a mistimed interception, which after replays showed, just missed Sergio Aguero.
The game overall was intense and a good spectacle for the neutral, but highlighted issues that are still prevalent in football, particularly refereeing decisions.
Here are our player ratings from the game.
