The game started exactly how many of us expected it to … in Everton’s box. City were all over us, and this remained the case for the large majority of play as we came away with 23% possession and a point.
The first half was littered with chances for City and we did well to go into the break on level terms, and it was in no small part down to Maarten Stekelenburg, who saved the first of his two penalty saves just before the half-time whistle, denying Kevin De Bruyne a goal and saving Phil Jagielka’s blushes.
It seemed as though the skipper was doing all he could to give City all three points today, as he was responsible for yet another penalty in the second half, which was once again saved superbly by Stekelenburg, who then kept out De Bruyne again with a world-class save.
We did eventually concede, but not before Romelu Lukaku showcased just what he can do skinning three City defenders and slotting home mid-way through the second half.
We got away from the Etihad with a point, that’s more than good.
Here’s the verdict…
We're Just Not All There
There were significant holes present in the Everton team today, including the lack of a creative midfielder especially. We got out of defence and then ran out of ideas as City came at us again. And again. And again.
Bryan Oviedo looked unremarkable at best, Tom Cleverley was solid but offered little going forward, Jags was a liability and Deulofeu was shellshocked. There’s too many not carrying their weight, and there are no sufficient replacements besides Mirallas for Geri.
January is an important month.
The Barkley debate is finished
There’s been much talk this week about Ross, and his increasing amount of disappointing outings for Everton.
So, accordingly, Koeman made the decision to drop him for this weekend’s game in favour of putting three in midfield and Deulofeu out wide.
Cleverley, Gana and Barry all started in midfield and they were all very impressive today as Cleverley showed his versatility and role-playing ability, occupying a role of a midfield sweeper extremely confidently.
So, the questions on Ross are over. As of now, there’s no place for him.
The Stekelenburg debate was a non-starter
Much like Ross, some questions had come about regarding our Keeper.
Certain news outlets and reporters questioned whether Stekelenburg is truly as good as our perception of him. He’d only made one crucial save in four games.
However, what he does outside of shot-stopping is not to be understated as he solidifies the defence and commands instant respect among his teammates.
And from today, his shot-stopping ability shouldn’t be questioned for a long time as he put in what may have been the greatest performance from an Everton keeper in the Modern era. He saved two penalties and made three more crucial, point-saving stops.
Jagielka Captain? No chance
Jagielka, today, was a hindrance to Everton as his lack of pace showed and his clumsiness in defence offered City all three points but they failed to comply. He gave away two penalties, both of which could have been easily avoided, and was at fault for City’s equaliser as he was caught ball watching and was beaten in the air by a 5 ft 9 winger.
And to have him as Captain is outrageous. Williams does all the organising, Coleman does all the shouting, and Barry leads by example.
Jagielka slumps his shoulders.
Jagielka is a good defender, but he is a poor captain.
Lukaku is truly a world-class striker
Lukaku is the most divisive player amongst the Gwladys by far.
Some think he’s lazy, some think he’s average and some think he’s world-class.
At what he does, goal-scoring, he’s world-class.
He doesn’t need to be hounding the opposition for 90 minutes, we have people who fill that role who excel at it. He doesn’t need to be looking for the ball on the half-way line, we have midfielders who link the play ever so well. He doesn’t need to be the most clinical passer in the team…
You get the idea.
What he does need to be, however, is a goal scorer.