Man City have lost 9 out of 12 matches before hosting Everton on the evening of December 26. Coach Pep Guardiola has a long injury list, including John Stones, Ruben Dias, Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Ederson, Matheus Nunes, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker.
Rico Lewis started at right-back. He is a very young player, lacking experience. Their bench is mostly unfamiliar faces from the youth team.
Despite the patchwork defense, City still started the match in an attacking position. In the 14th minute, Doku passed to Bernardo Silva in the penalty area. The Portuguese midfielder intended to coordinate with his teammates and luckily the ball went into the net after a difficult cross.
Since scoring the opening goal, The Citizens have played more confidently, putting good pressure. After a few misses, City paid the price with a goal in the 36th minute. Akanji headed the ball away, but it was in Ndiaye's position and he finished past Ortega.
Man City's efforts were ruined by an unnecessary mistake. This scenario has been repeated in previous matches. In the second half, they accelerated and tried to take control.
In the 53rd minute, Savinho was fouled by Mykolenko on the edge of the penalty area, Man City was awarded a penalty. But on the 11m mark, Erling Haaland's shot was blocked by Pickford.
The home team's players were all very tense after Haaland's missed shot. City's other problem is that they have no one of quality to bring in to change the situation. After 90 minutes, they finished 24 times, 3 times as many as their opponents but only scored 1 goal.
With a 1-1 draw, City's disastrous run of results extended to 13. Worse, they also lost points at home and are likely to fall out of the top 6 after this round.
