Manchester City were held on to a draw by Ronald Koeman’s men at the Etihad Stadium thanks to Maarten Stekelenburg’s heroics between the sticks.
Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku gave the Toffees a shock lead with a superb solo run and finish, before birthday boy Nolito equalized with his first touch of the game in the 72nd minute, in a game where Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero saw their penalties being saved.
Here are the taking points from Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Everton:
Guardiola’s formation
Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling as wing backs? 3-4-3? Fernandinho as right-back? The eleven left everyone dissecting how exactly the players are going to be lined-up on the field.
However, once the game started it it became quite evident it was three at the back with Otamendi – Stones – Clichy; Fernandinho and Gundogan in midfield with David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne as the primary playmakers just ahead of them. Kelechi Iheanacho lead the line flanked by Raheem Sterling on the left and Leroy Sane on the right as conventional wingers in a 3-2-2-3 formation.
This was the first time Pep deployed a 3 at the back system at City and if we ignore the penalty misses, worked out quite well for the home team with City dominating throughout the 90 mins with the game being played essentially in Everton’s defensive third for most part of the match.
Kelechi Iheanacho’s role
Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho is considered by many as a classic poacher, for his movements and quick reaction in the penalty box and his cold-blooded finishing but yesterday he showed he’s capable of doing much more than that; coming short to link up, dragging his marker with him and letting other players make runs off him.
But unfortunately for City, this meant they no bodies in the box as Kelechi was not that quick to get back into the box, while Sterling and Sane were asked to stay high and wide to stretch Everton’s backline as much as possible.
This tactic could work wonders for the team if Kelechi is paired with Aguero in tandem, with the 20-year-old holding up the ball and occupying the centre-backs, opening up space for Sergio Aguero to run into a possible goal scoring position. Which brings us to our next talking point – Sergio Aguero.
Sergio Aguero’s dip in form
The Argentine started the season in fine fashion, scoring 11 goals in his first 6 matches including two hat-tricks but it seems the striker is lacking in confidence from the past few weeks. In games where he isn’t on the score sheet, there’s always this feeling how he could do much more for the team, and today wasn’t any different even though he played for only about 35 mins.
After the Swansea game, where Aguero scored a brace, manager Pep Guardiola stated he expects more from the striker. What Pep meant is, other than the goals, Aguero has to contribute more to the team. He needs to be involved in the buildup play and be more active off the ball.
Whether it’s leading the pressing wave or making movements behind the defenders, because inevitably he will come across games where the ball just won’t go into back of the net for him. In those games he would have to compensate by contributing to the team in other ways. Sergio’s static movements in the last three games are a point of concern, but it would be foolish to doubt him to not upturn his mini-slump in form very soon.
Another slight cause of concern for the Argentine is his efficiency from the penalty spot taking a huge dip in 2016, converting only 8/14 penalties for his club and country in this calendar year. In does look like Sergio needs to go back to his basics.
New boy Leroy Sane
New signing Leroy Sane’s City career hasn’t got off to an easy start thanks to his injury problems, because of which he had to wait till mid-October to make his first Premier League start, but he didn’t disappoint on his full league debut, single-handedly dominating the right side in the first half and making the life of left-back Oviedo miserable.
Deulofeu’s lack of support meant Oviedo was isolated in his battle with Sane, with the German U21 international beating him for pace both on the inside or the outside almost every time he had the ball. The 20-year-old didn’t shy away from his defensive responsibility either, covering for his team-mates whenever necessary.
At half-time, Pep Guardiola switched his sides, with Raheem Sterling now on the right and Leroy Sane on the left. Sane looked less comfortable on this side, coming off at 71 mins for Nolito, after not being involved as much with team as he would have hoped for in the second half.
With Sane (20), Sterling (21), Iheanacho (20) and Gabriel Jesus (19), who is joining the team in January, City’s frontline looks sorted for years to come.
Barcelona awaits
Manchester City now travel to Spain for one of the most eagerly awaited Champions League contests against Barcelona, which sees an emotional return to Camp Nou for manager Pep Guardiola.
City go into the Barcelona match having not won any of their last three games and anything but three points would mean Pep’s longest win-less run as a manager since 2009. Though it needs to added, form and streaks don’t really matter on such match-days, as we look forward to what promises to be an intriguing tactical battle on Wednesday night.
