Blues snubbed for spot kick and memories come flooding back of American train horn

EVERTON held Manchester City at arm's length for almost an hour at the Etihad Stadium.

- By CHRIS BEESLEY ECHO Reporter chris.beesley@reachplecom @CBeesleyEcho

And, indeed, they had the better chances before being sank by Erling Haaland’s quickfire double in their 2-0 defeat.

But you knew that already.

However, what about the moments you may have missed? From the penalty a former referees chief felt Everton should have been awarded, to a subtle change in kickoff tactics, here are some of the potential incidents you may not have spotted...

Handling Everton penalties

Everton started the season by giving away penalties for handballs in each of their first two games.

The decision to award what proved to be a late match-winning spot-kick for Leeds United was particularly controversial with captain James Tarkowski, who the decision was given against, telling the ECHO: “I was confident when he was giving the decision that it was going to get overturned. | asked the question to the referee: ‘If my arm is by my side, is it a penalty?’ to which he said: ‘No,’ so | don't understand how it’s been given.”

Then, the following Sunday, in the Blues’ first competitive fixture at Hill Dickinson Stadium, home debutant Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall conceded a spot-kick for a similar offence.

However, when a shot by James Garner was blocked by Manchester City substitute Bernardo Silva's arm on Saturday, referee Tony Harrington waved away the visitors’ claims, with his decision incurring the wrath of ex-refereeing chief Keith Hackett.