Manchester City 1-1 Everton, 2016 Premier League: 3 Things We Learned

Manchester City will stay at the top of the Premier League table for another week after a 1-1 draw against a tough Everton side, thanks to goals from Nolito and Romelu Lukaku. A very good coaching battle between Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman finished with a dominant performance from City, but a draw in the end.

The first half was completely owned by the hosts, who had possession of the ball, forced Everton to park a bus in front of the box and created a few good opportunities though some beautiful short passing and a very good performance from the City midfield and the team's wingers, including Leroy Sané, who looked amazing in his first start for City in the Premier League.

Despite their dominance, however, the Citizens couldn't really trouble Everton keeper Maarten Stekelenburg, until David Silva was fouled inside the box by Phil Jagielka and won a penalty for the Citizens. Kevin De Bruyne had a chance to score in his return from injury, but his penalty was soft and easy to save, and Stekelenburg did just that to keep the score tied at halftime.

The second half challenge for City was to enjoy the same dominance in the first period but create better chances and score a goal or two. Sergio Agüero came into the pitch to try and add more firepower to the side, but City were still trying to pass their way into goal instead of taking more shots, and they paid for it. Romelu Lukaku went into a solo counter-attack, easily beat Gael Clichy with his speed and scored Everton's opener.

City went all in to try and find the equalizer, and Phil Jagielka helped again when he wrecked Agüero inside the box. Another penalty for City, and Agüero wasted it for the second time this week, with Stekelenburg once again making the save. The Dutch keeper couldn't stop Nolito, though, who headed home a David Silva cross to tie the game for City.

Man City: Bravo | Stones, Otamendi, Clichy | Gundogan (Kompany), Fernandinho, Silva | Sané (Nolito), De Bruyne, Sterling | Iheanacho (Agüero)

Goals: Nolito (72'),

Everton: Stekelenburg | Coleman, Jagielka, Williams, Oviedo | Gueye, Barry, Cleverley | Deulofeu (McCarthy), Lukaku, Bolasie (Mirallas)

Goals: Lukaku (64'),

3 Things

1 - Guardiola's (not so) crazy formation paid off

This was certainly new for Premier League fans, but Bundesliga fans weren't surprised. Pep used this formation a million times at Bayern Munich, and it is designed to stay strong defensively while having lots of players going forward and creating passing options for their teammates. It woked well throughout the game, and City were quite dominant with it, even though the game didn't end with a victory. This formation can't be used on every game, especially not against Barça, but it's another option that Guardiola can definitely use going forward.

2 - Kevin De Bruyne is back, the world can spin again

Despite missing a penalty that could have made the game even easier for City, Kevin looked very good in his return. He had more freedom that in the previous games, and he moved around the pitch to link up with his teammates and help create chances. He also took shots at goal, and while it wasn't his best ever performance, it was enough to raise the level of City's play against a tough opponent

3 - Welcome to Manchester City, Leroy Sané

The young German finally showed why he was a requested signing from Guardiola with a very impressive performance. He was bold, always looking to take players on and beat them with his pace and dribbling, and made good plays for his teammates as well. Welcome, Leroy. Keep it up and you'll make City fans very happy.