Man of the Match and Player Grades Poll for Everton at Manchester City

What a game wow. If Manchester City put on a clinic on how to possess the ball and attack, Everton put on their own display of defensive rigidity, replete with two saved penalties, that harkened back to the David Moyes era.

Club captain Phil Jagielka looked solid early but then gave away two careless penalties, and will be extremely relieved that Maarten Stekelenburg saved both. The goalie had an excellent game between the sticks, making save after save to repel the relentless City side.

Kevin de Bruyne stepped up to take the penalty, and put it to Stekelenburg’s left, where it was easily saved. The score remained 0-0 at halftime.

Romelu Lukaku got Everton’s goal on a quick break, running in on City’s right and his screened shot powering into the bottom far corner.

Everton’s lead was to last just eight minutes, but seemed much longer after Stekelenburg saved City’s second penalty of the day, this time from Sergio Aguero. Aguero’s shot was in the same area that de Bruyne’s went to, and the goalie was able to parry it away easily.

Aguero made amends for his miss minutes later though, drawing Ashley William’s attentions away from Nolito who placed his header beyond the dive of the Stek.

The second half looked much less lopsided than the first, and Everton can be proud of the defensive performance they put in on what is likely their toughest game of the season.

Vote in the poll below for how you think the Everton players did today against Manchester City.

Don’t forget to click the ‘Submit’ button on the form after you vote, and leave a comment below on who you think your Man of the Match for Everton was.