Blues can still take confidence despite defeat - but striker concerns persist

DESPITE the result, hopefully the Everton players can take some confidence from their game at the Etihad Stadium having gone toe-to-toe with a top team, trying to put them under pressure.

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In our first game back after the last international break - a Merseyside Derby at Anfield no less - I thought we started by looking a bit passive, sloppy and slow. We had a great start to the season but in between these first two international breaks, we didn’t seem to have retained those levels, so I hoped we could learn from that.

We saw a response to that though early on at the Etihad Stadium. We started brightly and were passing the ball around, showing confidence with our chests puffed out a little bit.

On the ball, we were trying to play our own game and without it, we were making Manchester City panic by putting them under pressure. For all the quality they have, we were forcing mistakes from them.

Of course, as the game progresses, City are going to have their passages of play at times, but we were focused, pressing with intent to try and force issues and mistakes. We were becoming a nuisance for them, and they couldn't get into their rhythms.

At the other end, we had some big chances but lacking that last bit of quality just let us down. If Beto had just made a bit more of an angle on his run, it might have been a tap-in.