Everton player ratings v Manchester City: Jordan Pickford excels again, Alex Iwobi let down
Everton took a well-earned point from the Premier League champions Manchester City after a 1-1 draw at The Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring midway through the first half having peeled off the centre-halves of Everton to convert a Riyad Mahrez cross.
Demarai Gray rescued Everton from out of nowhere with a stunning strike from just inside the area after an hour played to send the away end into raptures.
Jordan Pickford – 8
It could have easily been a riot for the Champions had Pickford not been on hand to deny the star-studded Citizens on many occasions. If he ends up being sold in January then the Toffees should prepare for a long time in the second tier because he is the man keeping Everton in the hunt for survival right now.
Nathan Patterson – 5
He may have been a revelation this season at Goodison Park but he was far from his best at The Etihad as Jack Grealish tormented the young Scotsman in wide areas. It will have been a valuable learning experience for Patterson, though, who should be trusted to remain in the side in the new year regardless of this performance.
Conor Coady – 6
The leader of the defence had an extra man to look after in Manchester but he still could not master a clean sheet against Pep Guardiola’s side. Maybe that was inevitable with Haaland in the side and Coady did all he could to prevent further damage.
James Tarkowski – 6
There are few tougher assignments than away at Manchester City but Tarkowski knew his job and did all he could to prevent a thumping with a number of blocks and no-nonsense clearances but it never made a difference in creating a counter-attack.
Ben Godfrey – 5
He stamped his authority on the game within seconds as he clipped Haaland but he quickly faded into the defensive shape of Everton and did not look particularly comfortable in a back three with City’s attackers swarming all over him.
Vitaliy Mykolenko – 7
Riyad Mahrez is one of the Premier League’s top wingers and yet the Ukrainian kept him relatively quiet outside of his assist for the opening goal which is far more than most full-backs have managed against him. Mykolenko is growing into the team with every game he plays.
Amadou Onana – 6
Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Rodri are comfortably the best midfield in the league so Onana and company had their work cut out but they looked relatively solid for much of the game. The Belgian was the main outlet for a counter-attack from deep but couldn’t get into the attacking third enough.
Idrissa Gueye – 5
The Senegalese international was almost a fourth centre-half at times as City kept on pushing the Toffees back and he was giving far too much space for De Bruyne and company to do their business on the ball. He has to be far more combative against top opposition.
Alex Iwobi – 4
As the most attacking of the midfield, Iwobi had to be the man who carried the ball out of the defensive block and created attacking chances but he was a shadow of his usual self and very rarely tried to break the lines as damage limitation was the word of the day.
Demarai Gray – 6
In an unorthodox second-striker role, Gray was probably the worst player on the field in a pink shirt until he scored a simply unbelievable goal to level the game at 1-1. If he could do this on a more consistent basis he’d be a brilliant player.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 4
Once again, Calvert-Lewin was as good as anonymous at The Etihad and while some of that can be put down to the sheer quality of the opposition, he should be more imposing on the defenders. He is a shadow of his former self and he can’t get back to his best no matter what at the moment.
Substitutes:
Seamus Coleman (on for Patterson 69′) – 6
Neal Maupay (on for Calvert-Lewin 69′) – 5
Tom Davies (on for Gueye 78′) – 5
Abdoulaye Doucoue (on for Godfrey 90+1′) – N/A