Erling Haaland penalty saved by Jordan Pickford as Man City’s troubles continue
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Erling Haaland missed a penalty as Manchester City’s torrid run continued with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Everton at the Etihad Stadium. The ailing champions at least avoided a 10th defeat in 13 outings in all competitions but their troubles were hardly eased as they were pegged back by the battling Toffees on Boxing Day.
Haaland then squandered the chance to get them back to winning ways in the Premier League when his second-half spot-kick was saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. City had led early in the game through Bernardo Silva but Iliman Ndiaye levelled before the break.
It was another creditable result for Sean Dyche’s side after stalemates against Arsenal and Chelsea in their previous two outings. Yet for City boss Pep Guardiola the questions continue, although injuries were once again a major factor. Already without the services of Rodri, Ederson and Ruben Dias, John Stones, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker were added to the list of absentees since the weekend.
That left the out-of-form Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan as the senior stars on an inexperienced bench that featured four teenagers and a 20-year-old. City controlled a lot of the early play and went close after three minutes when Josko Gvardiol headed against a post from a corner.
Savinho looked lively but lacked the decisive touch as he found his route to goal blocked after a couple of promising runs. The hosts’ pressure paid off in the 14th minute when Silva claimed a deflected opener after sliding in to meet Jeremy Doku’s through-ball.
