- Points were shared between Man City and Everton
- Some players made fatal errors
- Others stepped up when it mattered
Manchester City did not do enough to get the better of Everton, but at least some players can hold their heads high for their important contributions.
Everton were a team out of form ahead of Monday night’s fixture, while Manchester City had become practically unstoppable.
However, the Toffees took advantage of some shocking play from the Citizens in the second half at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Here are the three players who impressed us with their respective performances, and three more who prevented their team from collecting a much-needed three points.
Winners
Jeremy Doku was Man City’s hero
The most obvious pick of them all when it comes to winners, Jeremy Doku delivered a special performance on Monday night.
Interestingly, the Belgian winger only attempted two shots, but he used these wisely to find the net on two occasions.
Doku’s improvement this season has been quite extraordinary and he had by far the biggest impact of any player against Everton.
In addition to his attacking play, the 23-year-old made eight defensive contributions and won 14 ground duels, which is impressive for any player, especially an attacker.
Gianluigi Donnarumma made some vital saves
Man City’s defensive line were shockingly bad, meaning Gianluigi Donnarumma had to step up and keep his team in the game.
The Italian international may have conceded three goals, but this number could have been doubled if it was not for his excellent goalkeeping.
Donnarumma prevented 0.74 goals, and two of his saves against Beto and Iliman Ndiaye respectively were particularly big moments for City, which occurred either side of half-time.
Mateo Kovacic made use of his brief cameo
Pep Guardiola decided to bring on Mateo Kovacic with 15 minutes remaining and it was a decision he will be pleased to have made.
The midfielder did more in attack for Man City in his short time on the pitch than Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez accomplished all game.
Indeed, it was Kovacic who aimed a lovely through ball to Erling Haaland which gave City the platform to go on and take a point from the match.
Losers
Marc Guehi kickstarted Everton’s comeback
The Toffees had chances, but Donnarumma was playing in such a way that it never really felt like the Sky Blues would concede.
Fast forward to the 68th minute and in a moment of pure madness, Marc Guehi played the ball straight to Thierno Barry.
The Everton striker must not have believed his luck, as he scored what will surely be one of the easiest goals of his career.
Initially the goal was ruled out as Barry was in an offside position. However, Guehi made a clear attempt to play the ball, meaning his mistake proved costly.
It is also worth pointing out that Guehi was caught out of position for Barry’s second goal, and his attempt to get back and stop the centre forward was quite pitiful.
Abdukodir Khusanov also made a big error
Neither one of Man City’s centre-back pairing covered themselves in glory against Everton. In fact, Abdukodir Khusanov was just as guilty as Guehi.
The defender spent an unnecessary amount of time on the ball and lost it in a dangerous area, which led to the hosts winning a corner.
Jake O’Brien launched himself into the air and scored, putting Everton ahead for the first time in the game.
Khusanov has been brilliant over the past few months, but he was off the pace during Monday’s draw.
Nico O’Reilly did nothing to help Man City
Early in the game, O’Reilly spent a lot of time in Everton’s half and he had 45 touches of the ball before half-time.
However, the England international only had 22 touches after the break and he was no longer in a position to be placing balls into the box.
O’Reilly lost most of his duels, and four defensive contributions is never going to cut in in a Premier League fixture.
As good as the 21-year-old has been recently, there are no excuses for his underwhelming showing at Everton’s new ground.
Back at home on Saturday
The Citizens return to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday after an away day to forget. Although in truth, the dramatic events of the night will live long in the memory.
Brentford are the team making the trip to Manchester, as Pep Guardiola’s team is looking to move within two points of Arsenal.
Hopefully it will be an evening where there are only winners to talk about concerning the hosts, but time will tell if City can deliver a better performance than what we saw last night.
