Posession With No End Product Everton 4 vs. 0 City

“Of course we can do better ...”, Pep Guardiola – 15/01/2017.

Goals:Lukaku (34'minutes), Mirallas (47'minutes), Davies (79'minutes), Lookman (90'+4minutes)

Line Up (4-2-3-1) (match ratings in brackets); 

Bravo (3.5)
Sagna (5)
Stones (4)
Otamendi (5)
Clichy (3.5)
Toure (6)
Sterling (6)
Zabaletta (5), (Iheanacho 62' (4.5))
Silva (5.5)
Aguero (5.5)
De Bruyne (6)

Referee; Mark Clattenburg (3.5)

Stats;Possession, 29%/71%; Shots, 6(4)/13(5); Corners, 3/7; Fouls, 3/6

What a difference a week makes. A lackluster performance, with every mistake punished by an Everton side which actually didn't need to play well to take the points . 

This was terrible to watch, but was a script many City fans could have written once the referee was announced as the infamous Mark Clattenburg. 

1. Big decisions change matches. Nil-Nil, 11 minutes, Sterling through on goal is clearly fouled by Robles in the area. Clattenburg decides to give the benefit of the doubt to the keeper. 

2. The FIFA rules on fouls and yellow cards do not have a time clause. Clattenburg further sets the tone of the match by allowing all Everton players to go unpunished for a succession of niggly and late challenges, designed to break up City's momentum in possession. Davies and Mori in particular got away with murder.

3. What happened to City's own pressing game? Seen with devastating effect verses West Ham, this was almost completely absent verses Everton, and it showed. 

4. The Bravo experiment continues to be a disaster. Up to Bravo's first weak attempt at a save today, he had failed to stop 7 out of 12 shots on the City goal, resulting in goals for the opposition [source Opta]. Heaven knows what that figure looks like now. 

5. The defence needs a leader. If solid shape is given as the excuse to continue to pick a keeper so bereft of goal keeping acumen, then that also is a miserable failure. On seven occasions this season with Bravo in goal and using the "controlled" build up, City have conceded from the first attempt on goal. No-one in the back five is taking responsibility, or is as verbal as Joe Hart or Vincent Kompany , put this together with the constant errors in the left back position and its a recipe for disaster. Txiki needs to act in this window.

@l0ngwayfr0mh0me