Erling Haaland’s penalty miss sums up Man City’s troubles in frustrating draw with Everton | OneFootball

So, no Christmas miracle for the man christened Josep. Instead, his new normal continued. Pep Guardiola has won 12 league titles but now he can’t win a game. It is a solitary victory in 13 attempts for his malfunctioning Manchester City team; an unlucky 13, perhaps, except that arguably City got what they deserved. Wasteful in attack, brittle in defence, ponderous in possession, they lost another lead at the Etihad Stadium. They dropped two more points. With every setback, it feels more feasible next season’s Champions League will not feature the club who won the trophy 18 months ago.

And with every display of bloody-minded resolve, it seems more probable that Bramley-Moore Dock will host Premier League football. Everton may be buoyed by the Friedkin Group’s takeover but they have also been cheered by the resistance of Sean Dyche’s band of grafters. A hat-trick of draws have been ground out, but unlike the stalemates with Arsenal and Chelsea, this was garnished by a goal, a glorious strike from Iliman Ndiaye. The other decisive contribution, unsurprisingly, came from Jordan Pickford. Exceptional of late, the goalkeeper was not overworked but he distinguished himself with a penalty save from Erling Haaland. “Credit to him,” said Dyche. “He had to make a decision and made the right one.”

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Bernardo Silva celebrates after putting City in front at the Etihad (Getty)

Haaland’s fallibility underlined the way all of City’s powers seem to be betraying them. For such a prolific striker, Haaland has never been an immaculate penalty-taker. But a tame spot-kick means his recent record stands at one goal in his last seven games. He may have been unnecessarily harsh in blaming himself for the defeat at Aston Villa, but he has some culpability in City’s latest disappointment. There was also an uncharacteristic lack of confidence in the two moments when he headed back across the penalty box, looking for teammates, rather than going for goal himself.

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Iliman Ndiaye wheels away after scoring his stunning equaliser for Everton (Reuters)

While Bernardo Silva did find the net, albeit aided by a deflection, City’s fortunes when Haaland misfired illustrate how over-reliant on him they have become. The left-back Josko Gvardiol now seems their next-likeliest scorer – he headed Phil Foden’s early cross against the post. Thereafter, City had a form of statistical domination that did not translate into goals. Their final tallies stood at 24 shots and 49 touches inside the Everton box, yet the numbers could suggest City were better than they actually were.

“We played really good,” Guardiola insisted. “But we are in the period right now that is what happens, we create, we concede the first time [they] arrive [in the box].”

For City, there was a lack of genuine incision, a shortage of real creativity in the middle, the odd touch from Foden aside, with Kevin De Bruyne spending the majority of the match on the bench and Guardiola wondering if he should have brought the Belgian on sooner. Instead, he altered his ethos to bring in two wingers. He had a dividend of sorts, with Jeremy Doku playing a part in Bernardo Silva’s opener and the slaloming Savinho winning the penalty Haaland missed when fouled by Vitalii Mykolenko. Yet otherwise Doku lost his duel with Seamus Coleman, the 36-year-old captain who summed up Everton’s spirit and who even embarked on an unlikely solo run. Savinho was better but had seven shots and is still yet to score for City.

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Jordan Pickford dives to his right to stop Erling Haaland’s penalty (Action Images via Reuters)

There was a significance in Guardiola’s selection: he was without eight players, with Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker the latest absentees, even if it is a moot point if either was actually missed. With De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan benched, he gave the younger, more mobile Silva the position often granted to one of the veterans. The Portuguese proved the box-to-box midfielder City had been lacking, with the running power to get beyond Haaland for the opener, even if, when he ran on to Doku’s pass, he slid in to either shoot or centre. Whichever, the touch off Jarrad Branthwaite took the ball beyond Pickford. Yet a second Silva shot, blazed wide after Foden teed him up, looked a turning point.

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Jordan Pickford salutes the travelling fans at full-time (EPA)

Everton scored a couple of minutes later. There were the regular themes in City’s defending of late, of passivity and individual errors, but also, as Dyche pointed out, “a great finish”. Manuel Akanji failed to clear Abdoulaye Doucoure’s centre, with Rico Lewis leaving Ndiaye too much room to take a touch and direct in a half-volley. Thereafter, City looked nervous whenever Everton attacked. There was a purpose to them, as there invariably is when Dyche’s teams are at their best, an organisation and determination that reflected well on a manager who is auditioning to keep his job. When he was in charge at Burnley, he had a habit of losing 5-0 to City; but that was a different City.

“Football is about winning,” said Guardiola, who has done more of it than virtually anyone else. “Always we have done it and this season, the last month and a half, we were not able to do it.” Now City have taken just five points from a possible 27, dropping more in two months than they used to in entire seasons. “Life is not easy,” Guardiola shrugged. “Sport is not easy.” Football certainly isn’t for him now.