Tough night for huge promise (part one)

Jarrad Branthwaite and Amadou Onana are a couple of huge, emerging talents in this Everton side in more ways than one but after rather different performances from the pair, this couple of man mountains both ended up playing close up roles in the goals that saw this contest slip away from the hosts.

It was particularly unfortunate for Branthwaite who, in what has been a breakthrough season for him, has been the Blues stand-out performer of the campaign so far. A string of the biggest, baddest strikers in the Premier League have been routinely swatted aside by the young Cumbrian this term and after surviving an early drop of the shoulder from Phil Foden, who presented him with an all-together different kind of challenge, he looked to have settled well into his surroundings here against the albeit Erling Haaland-less most potent forward line in the business.

Jordan Pickford's no-look pass was unforgiving for Branthwaite as not only would he have not been expecting it, the ball came at him at pace. It was also lamentable that it subsequently fell to the feet of Bernardo Silva, one of the few players so skilful and composed as to always punish you in such situations but such is the steep learning curve at this level.

Tough night for huge promise (part two)

If Branthwaite can count himself unlucky, what can we say about Amadou Onana and Manchester City's penalty?

Certainly the player has the support of his manager Sean Dyche who described the awarding of the spot-kick as "incredible" and a decision that could be debated at length but while the Blues boss is right that such calls are always going to divide opinion, what seems far more clear-cut is that the Belgium international's all-round night was much more laboured than Branthwaite's. In the end, John Brooks pointing to the spot and adjudging Onana to have been guilty of handball, just about summed up the midfielder's night.

With both top scorer Abdoulaye Doucoure and now Idrissa Gueye both missing, Onana - like James Garner - has been forced to adjust his role in midfield to dovetail with the rather different attributes brought by Andre Gomes but whereas Garner who is just five months his senior, has taken such responsibilities in his stride, such is his versatility, the former Lille man appeared somewhat out of sorts. As is always liable to happen against a side of City's style and quality, he found himself pegged back for long periods but despite getting some important blocks in, this was not the kind of contest in which he was able to truly express himself and given his massive potential, many Evertonians were left wanting more.

Champions of the world - for half an hour

Using boxing logic, halfway through this contest, it was Everton who were now the new 'champions of the world' as they led Manchester City in their first match since they triumphed in the FIFA Club World Cup but by the time the full time whistle blew, it was clear that even in their more-difficult moments, Pep Guardiola's all-stars are of course still a formidable force to be reckoned with.

With some City followers fearing this could be a good time for the Blues to face them due to the injuries to stars like Haaland and the contest coming hot on the heels of their exploits in Saudi Arabia, there was talk that the visitors, who had dropped out of the Premier League's top four and had won just one of their previous six matches in the competition, might not be firing on all cylinders. You write this group of players off at your peril though and while Everton hopes were raised by their interval lead, their wait for a first win over City since the 4-0 thrashing in Guardiola's first season, will now extend beyond seven years.

Back when David Moyes coined his famous "Taking a knife to a gunfight" analogy when it came to competing with the wealth of nouveau riche City, the Blues used to have something of an Indian sign over their rivals from down the East Lancs Road but those days are now long gone. That's just one win from their last 21 Premier League meetings now and crucially, a first defeat under Dyche after taking the lead.

Pick that one out

Along with old foes Newcastle United with their prehistoric paraphernalia and neighbours Liverpool, it seems that Jordan Pickford can add the supporters of Manchester City to the far-from-insignificant number of opposition fanbases he's been in the firing line from.

Many of those in the away section of the Bullens Road stands, were giving the Everton goalkeeper plenty of stick for much of the night with bizarre barbs such as "England's number five" supplemented by chants such as "Scotty Carson, he's better than you" and "Scotty Carson, he's won more than you." Such 'banter' is surely water off a duck's back for the best home-grown player in the division in his position with City's first choice Ederson - who made a spectacular save here to deny Jack Harrison from doubling the hosts' lead - among a select club of just two alongside compatriot Alisson who can genuinely claim to be operating at a higher level.

In truth, Pickford - who hasn't been overburdened in many of the Blues' matches throughout December - showed just why he is England's number one with a string of smart stops himself but when you're in between the sticks, when you do drop a clanger, it can often result in a goal and that's what happened here. Even the great Neville Southall showed he was human by making the odd mistake and there's no getting away from Pickford's culpability for City's third goal - hopefully it's a good few years before the man who has saved Everton on so many occasions does anything like that again.