Everton

"If that doesn't get given as a penalty, then it's an absolute free-for-all from now on," David Moyes said after the game.

The Everton manager wanted a spot-kick after Merlin Rohl was pulled to the ground by Bernardo Silva at an 85th-minute corner.

"I might have to start coaching my defenders how to defend differently completely," Moyes added. "It looks like now you're able to sort of grapple and wrestle on the ground if you want.

"I'm absolutely amazed."

It was checked by Paul Howard, the video assistant referee, but he ultimately decided that the foul took place before the ball was in play.

And you cannot give a free-kick or a penalty if the ball is out.

The referee can take disciplinary action, but the restart has to remain the same.

Last season, Southampton's Jack Stephens was sent off via a VAR review for pulling the hair of Chelsea's Marc Cucurella when the ball was out. The game still got under way again with a corner.

It is often why you see a lot of the pushing and shoving taking place just before a corner taker delivers the ball into the box.

There is no doubt that most of the holding was before the ball was kicked. But Everton fans argue it was still happening when James Garner kicked the ball, and that VAR should have intervened.

The VAR stats show why Everton feel so frustrated.

With three rounds to go, they are the only team in the Premier League yet to have an overturn go in their favour. In fact, no other team has fewer than two.

At the other end of the scale, Chelsea have had 11 VAR interventions go their way.

The last time the Toffees gained from a review was in January 2025, for a penalty at Brighton.

But stats from the Premier League's key match incidents panel indicate Everton have not generally been hard done by.

Everton have suffered only one error this season, when they should have been awarded a penalty on VAR review at home to Arsenal.

The Toffees have, however, benefited from four refereeing mistakes.

There was a missed VAR intervention to award a penalty to Wolves in August.

A spot-kick should have been given to the Gunners in the reverse game at Emirates Stadium, and to Chelsea in March - but neither reached the threshold for VAR.

Garner, meanwhile, should have received a second caution against Aston Villa in January.

• Read more from Dale on the officiating

Mike Richards
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

How do you begin to sum up another chaotic night involving Everton?

From the mundane and passive first half, to fireworks, inept officiating and scenes befitting of a season-ending fixture, with plenty riding on it for both teams.

If truth be told, most Evertonians would have taken a point before kick off, but as with any result, the circumstances tell the true story – and last night, Everton will be the ones feeling hard done to.

The last three games have seen us on the end of questionable officiating, with countless glaring errors on show at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The failure to award a penalty when Bernardo Silva took it upon himself to hug and haul Merlin Rohl to the floor, whilst not looking at the ball, was beyond baffling.

David Moyes was as flabbergasted as every home fan in attendance. Especially given the PGMOL's directive this season to award a penalty for that exact offence. This only a week after another stonewall penalty away at West Ham, was waved away. It beggars belief at times.

That decision, added to the stoppage time on top of the allotted stoppage time at the end of the match, proved costly and simply can't be ignored.

Dropping two points wasn't solely down to poor officiating and we can't hide behind that in isolation.

The manner in which we conceded the second goal - four seconds after the restart from us going 3-1 up – is somewhat unforgivable.

At a time when concentration and cool heads were needed, we decided to switch off and allow the simplest of straight passes to find it's way to the most prolific striker in the league.

The fact we have come away disappointed with a point, shows you what a second half performance it was.

With Tim Iroegbunam, Rohl and Thierno Barry taking their opportunities, it gives the manager a nice headache before Sunday's trip to Crystal Palace.

Find more from Mike Richards at Unholy Trinity, external

We asked for your thoughts after Monday's Premier League game between Everton and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Everton fans

Stuart: Hard to criticise our performance but we should have won given that it's the third game in a row we have conceded in time added on, which has probably seen off our European challenge. Might have had five on the night with better finishing.

Ben: As an Everton fan, I didn't think I'd say after the match that I'd be disappointed with a draw, but this was two dropped points. The bad defending on City's second goal and Ndiaye's disappointing finishing will haunt me. City honestly offered nothing except for Doku. They were poor and didn't deserve a point out of this. But again they found a way to save themselves.

G.Edwards: Everton were brilliant and deserved to win.

Harry: Wow! 3-1 up with eight minutes left - the game was pretty weird. Referees have a habit of making life difficult for Everton - and it's not a moan, it's a fact. Three games on the run we have dropped points in injury time. Bad luck or bad coaching?

Jeff: After being 3-1 up, this feels like a loss. And just like against Arsenal this loss is totally down to Moyes - bringing on three substitutes after the 90th minute in a cowardly effort to waste time. It once again broke the momentum and it backfired on us. It reminds me of Moyes' first spell at Everton. When will he ever stop doing this? We can definitely say goodbye to being in Europe next season.

Man City fans

Kenneth: Very poor defensively but Doku was outstanding. I think the title is now Arsenal's as cannot see them dropping any points from their remaining games, and their run-in looks, on paper, easier than City's.

Daniel: It just shows how difficult it is to beat Everton under Moyes. City should have been out of sight in the first half but they were busy playing entertaining football.

Elaine: All that first half possession and pressure meant nothing. Awful lapse of concentration from Guehi and bringing Kovacic on didn't work. Cherki needs to stop showboating and come up with a decent end product. Now need to hope Arsenal slip up - stranger things happened! "This isn't over!"

Gene: Again complacency ruined a golden opportunity for a win. The lack of desire to score goals when a win as well as goals are needed. The situation is of their own doing and now have to hope Arsenal stumble.

Harry: I'm not going to celebrate a draw or praise these players. The draw was the bare minimum they owed after what I saw in that second half. I'm proud of the lads for the performances this season, but it's clear a lot of them don't have the mentality for a title race yet. Doku, Donnarumma and Haaland were fine. Everyone else needs to take a look at themselves. I won't berate Guehi because he knows he has to do better than that. Credit to Everton as they were well up for it. We haven't lost the title with this result, rather we lost it to Spurs, West Ham, Sunderland, Brighton and Forest. We can still take an FA Cup but we'll have to come back for Arsenal next year.

Everton manager David Moyes, speaking to Sky Sports: "We let ourselves down because we defended the second goal so poorly. Look, at half-time we would have taken the result because we were hugely outplayed in the first half."

On what he changed at half-time: "I wanted us to get a little bit closer to City. We couldn't get near them and, to be fair, they played really well as well. I have to give them huge credit for that. It was probably the poorest we have played here, certainly against the better teams this season. The players made a great effort to get us in the game and, really, when we got to 3-1, we should be doing enough to see it out."

On Barry's performance from the bench: "He's had quite a difficult time recently. He came off the bench and got himself a couple of goals, which is a great thing for any striker and will give him great confidence. I'm really pleased for him."

On Everton's Europe hopes: "I'm not sure. I think it's going to be tough. In the last couple of games, we've lost games late on, and today we've drawn. It could and probably will have an impact on our final position."

Everton forward Thierno Barry, speaking to Sky Sports: "It's always a pleasure to play against a big team like Manchester City. I'm very happy to come on and score two goals. In the final, we had to settle for a draw so we need to keep pushing because there are three games left."

On his first goal: "I don't know really know. I think God gave me this opportunity and I took it. I'm very happy."

How Everton scored three goals in the second half: "When I was on the bench, I watched the tactics of City and saw high pressures from City, so I knew if we could win the ball back we could counter-attack. I think this is a weakness of City."

On Everton's chances of qualifying for Europe: "We need to take it game by game and see where we are at the end of the season."

Did you know?

• There were just 284 seconds between Thierno Barry's equaliser (67:55) and Jake O'Brien's header putting Everton 2-1 up (72:39).

• Everton have had five goals scored by substitutes in the Premier League this season, with all five of those being netted by either Thierno Barry (3) or Beto (2). Indeed, Barry became just the third substitute to score a Premier League brace against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side after Anthony Martial (October 2022) and Samuel Chukwueze (December 2025).

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Everton had staged a superb second-half comeback through substitute Thierno Barry and Jake O'Brien as they eyed a famous victory.

But they could not hold on as David Moyes' long wait to secure a league victory over Pep Guardiola continued - he has now gone 17 meetings against the Spaniard without claiming three points and claimed just three draws in that run.

The Scot's side were all over Manchester City in the second half and with better finishing could have been out of sight, before they conceded to Doku's stunning last-gasp equaliser.

Iliman Ndiaye ran the City backline ragged and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a full-stretch save low down - then the Senegal winger had an even better chance four minutes later when Marc Guehi and Matheus Nunes got in each other's way, but he was denied by the Italy keeper again.

Barry's equaliser was awarded as the offside had been reset by Guehi deemed to be in controlled possession of the ball with no pressure from the Everton striker, who took full advantage off his error to equalise.

The Frenchman scored again after O'Brien's thumping header and Everton looked set for all three points until they conceded a goal past the 90th minute for a third consecutive game.

But Mikel Arteta and Arsenal will surely not mind that too much - as this result still puts them firmly in the driver's seat for the title with just three games remaining.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Everton's performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back on Tuesday for a selection of your replies

Everton make two changes following their last-gasp defeat against West Ham last weekend.

On-loan German midfielder Merlin Rohl gets a start, as does Tim Iroegbunam, with Dwight McNeil dropping out and Idrissa Gueye not involved in the squad.

Everton XI: Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Rohl, Garner, Iroegbunam, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye, Beto.

Manchester City last played nine days ago when they edged past Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final and boss Pep Guardiola has reverted to his full strength side.

There are eight changes in all with only Wembley match-winner Nico Gonzalez, Matheus Nunes and Rayan Cherki keeping their places in the side.

Rodri is not involved as he continues to recover from a groin injury, but former Toffee John Stones is on the bench against his old club.

Man City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O'Reilly, Silva, Gonzalez, Doku, Semenyo, Cherki, Haaland.

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Image source, Getty Images

When a £100m price tag was attached to Tyler Dibling, as speculation raged about his future at Southampton, the youngster admitted it became a running joke among his team-mates.

It was an indication, however, of just how highly rated lavishly-gifted Dibling had become in a Saints side which was doomed to relegation long before the end of last season.

When Dibling did eventually move, following links to Tottenham and RB Leipzig among others, it was to Everton in a £40m deal that made him one of the most expensive signings in the club's history.

He was hailed as a generational talent, who would become a central component in Everton's new era at Hill Dickinson Stadium under manager David Moyes.

Instead, the 20-year-old has had a transitional season spent largely in the wilderness at Everton, starting only four Premier League games and featuring for just 513 minutes in total.

Dibling was also overlooked when Jack Grealish, whose socks down dribbling style drew comparisons between the pair, suffered a season-ending foot injury. Instead, Dwight McNeil, who Everton were prepared to sell to Crystal Palace until a late-hitch scuppered the deal, has been chosen ahead of him.

Dibling is an introverted character and, while Everton might have wanted more from his first campaign, there are no questions about his future. It was always felt it might take time for a youngster to settle in the north.

Moyes is certainly not panicking, although he will not be in the starting line-up for Monday night's home game against Manchester City.

"He'll have to do better in his work and in his training," said Moyes. "We brought in Tyrique George on loan from Chelsea, who is of a similar age and as competition as well, to make sure we were covered.

"We want Tyler to step up, we really do. He is important to us. He is a player who we put a lot of faith and money in to, so we are looking for a lot more."

This summer's pre-season is regarded as crucial to his development - the point at which he will have to prove he is ready to fight for regular football.

Read the full article here

There are two games in the Premier League on Monday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Chelsea v Nottingham Forest (15:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Everton v Manchester City (20:00)

Kick-off times BST

Follow live text and radio commentary of the game at Stamford Bridge here

And go here for coverage of Everton v Man City at Hill Dickinson Stadium

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentary on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Chelsea v Nottingham Forest".

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth have claimed the edge in the battle for sixth place in the Premier League - and what could be the strangest Champions League spot yet.

The in-form Cherries' 3-0 win over Crystal Palace helped them overtake Brentford into that position.

Sixth will earn a Europa League place at the very least, with some of the contenders having never qualified for Europe before.

However, both elements needed for sixth place to become a Champions League spot seem quite plausible.

Aston Villa would need to finish in fifth, exactly where they currently reside, and win the Europa League. They trail Nottingham Forest 1-0 after the semi-final first leg, but they are at home for Thursday's return leg.

This scenario will only play out if Villa finish fifth - and not in the top four or below fifth - because of a quirk in Uefa's rules.

The Premier League landed a fifth Champions League place because of the English teams' performances in Europe - something called the European Performance Spot (EPS).

So if Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth, that EPS spot would be passed down to the team in sixth, who would qualify for the Champions League.

However if Villa finish in the top four, winning the Europa League would make no difference to any other English team and the sixth-placed finisher would qualify for the Europa League.

With Aston Villa six points clear in fifth, sixth place appears to be the highest any of the other teams could finish.

At the moment, Bournemouth are on 52 points - one point clear of Brentford, who are one point above Brighton.

The Cherries and the Bees have never played in European competition before, while the Seagulls' only Uefa campaign was in the 2023-24 Europa League.

Chelsea are four points behind Bournemouth, but they have a game in hand against Forest.

Fulham are level on points with Chelsea. Everton, who have a game in hand against Manchester City, and Sunderland are on 47 points - so they are just about in the race.

Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Leeds could still mathematically - but not so realistically - qualify for the Champions League.

Read the full article here

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City can keep up the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal on Monday (20:00 BST) when they visit Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Just one point from their past three games - including two last-gasp defeats in their past two - has halted Everton's push for European football. However, they go into this fixture five points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth with a game in hand, meaning all is not lost.

Manchester City represent a fearsome opponent, though, especially with the scent of the title in their nostrils. Pep Guardiola and his side have had a full week to prepare for this fixture after their dramatic win over Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final last Saturday.

Everton running out of steam?

Toffees manager David Moyes has relied on a core group of players this season, and it has served him well - at least until a couple of weeks ago.

Defeats by Liverpool and West Ham United came courtesy of injury-time goals from the opposition. It was the first time Everton have conceded a winning goal in the 90th minute or later in back-to-back league games.

While the Toffees have frequently scored late themselves this season, it is perhaps no surprise that the wear and tear of the campaign is beginning to show. Everton have made the fewest substitutions, used the fewest players, and only Nottingham Forest have made fewer changes to their starting XI over the course of the season.

In Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the Blues at least have a player in form in the final third. The midfielder netted his eighth goal of the season at West Ham and is proving himself to be a lethal finisher; only Antoine Semenyo (+4.5) and Harry Wilson (+4.3) are outperforming their xG by a greater margin than the former Chelsea and Leicester City man (+4.2).

City look to continue dominance over Everton

As much as this fixture has the feel of a potentially awkward one for City, visits to the blue half of Merseyside have been fruitful for them for many years.

Everton have not beaten City in the league since their 4-0 win at Goodison Park in 2016 - a run spanning 17 games. City have also won their past eight visits to Everton, which represents the Toffees' longest run of consecutive home defeats against one opponent in their history.

Moyes has also found Guardiola a difficult foe. The Scot has yet to record a win in 15 previous meetings between the two managers; only Sean Dyche against Guardiola and Steve Bruce against Sir Alex Ferguson have faced an opponent more times - 17 occasions - without winning in the competition.

City have been far from their best in the recent wins over Burnley and Southampton, but they will be confident of exploiting an Everton defence that has been ropey as of late.

The Toffees have struggled in the full-back positions all season and in Jeremy Doku, City have the perfect player to capitalise on any frailties. The Belgium international has made 82 carries into the opponent's penalty area, which is nine more than any other player.

Manchester City have got some momentum and come into this game off the back of six straight wins in all competitions.

Will they keep that good form up, though? The Hill Dickinson has not been a fortress for Everton this season but I can see them making it difficult for City and being hard to break down.

It wouldn't surprise me if Everton picked up a point but with City's front four of Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo in such good form, I am going to say they will find a way to win it.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Everton boss David Moyes reflects on Monday night football becoming a regular fixture and how that affects supporters before their match against Manchester City.

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier League game against Manchester City at Hill Dickinson Stadium (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Beto is back in training and available after going through the concussion protocol.

• No other team news to report. Moyes said there are a few niggles and knocks but "everything is as we are" and "we will have to see where they are Monday night".

• Moyes says Everton have heard back from the PGMOL after being denied a penalty at West Ham. "It is always rubbish you get back... it is never what you want to hear."

• Reflecting on this season, Moyes believes Everton have had a "settled" run without much drama and he thinks they have laid good foundations during their first year at Hill Dickinson Stadium and they want to build on it.

• On challenging for European football: "The players aren't used to it. But it's a better feeling than trying to avoid relegation. Hopefully we keep improving and challenge the best teams."

• Moyes says this season, and the new stadium, will mean "not much" when it comes to transfer business this summer: "Players want to play in the Premier League but they also want to be involved in European football. We've been close this year, top end of the league. We struggled to attract players in the summer because they want European football."

• On Manchester City's form: "It is not unexpected - Manchester City are capable of things like this." He said it will be tough "but we know if we can do something special it could help us greatly".

• Moyes spoke of the difficulties Monday night games pose to him and the fans: "We need the TV companies' money. If you're good enough and get Europe you won't have them as much. I feel for the supporters, for the younger generation who are at school the next day, late nights and all that. We don't want to discourage that generation of fans."

Hit play above to hear more from Moyes or listen on BBC Sounds here

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Everton? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

The Blue Room podcast contributor Warren Doyle believes whether Tyrique George could remain with Everton depends on the money his parent club want.

The 20-year-old winger is on loan with the Toffees from Chelsea until the end of the season.

Doyle told BBC Radio Merseyside: "There's definitely a threat when he's on the pitch. There is something about a quick and direct player. It'll be good to see more from him.

"I think if he came through our academy and he was ours through our youth system he'd be one we'd be getting very excited about.

"It has clearly meant something for him to be involved with the club and the team so there is something there.

"I think it's all going to be dependant on the money that Chelsea would want for him. If we could get him on another loan I'd certainly be up for that. He has shown promise."

Hear the conversation in full below or listen on BBC Sounds

Everton look set to revive their interest in Chelsea forward Liam Delap, 23, while they are also exploring moves for defender John Stones, 31, who is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season, and Arsenal's Ben White, 28. They also want to extend Jack Grealish's loan from Manchester City. (i paper - subscription required, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Everton have already made an offer to PSV to take the Dutch club's US-born Bosnia and Herzegovina forward Esmir Bajraktarevic, 21, to Hill Dickinson Stadium in the summer. (SportSport - in Bosnian, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Everton's chances of qualifying for European football this season, with just four fixtures left for David Moyes' side to stake their claim.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Dan: My heart says yes, let's push for Europe, it is a refreshing tonic to relegation scrambling. But my head is saying, is it such a good thing to be heading into Europe with a stretched squad at such an early stage in our rebuild under Moyes and the Friedkin group? Another season focusing on domestic competitions and building for Europe will surely help us avoid short-term relegation scrambling again.

Tim: I think the last couple of results, while not the final ones, have been substantial nails in the coffin of our European ambition. I don't feel we have a big enough squad for Europe and we STILL need to sort out our striker situation. Next year for sure with some money spent well, but I think this is maybe a year too early for us. Not to take away from the excellent progress we've made, this year and the job David Moyes has done, but Europe this season may be too soon.

Daniel: I'm not sure we're ready for European football. We've had a good season, a consolidation season. The team is gelling etc. We still don't have the strength in depth to handle the additional fixtures. Maybe the extra cash could go on new squad players but I worry we'll overstretch ourselves. I'd be happy to finish the season strongly, have a good summer transfer window, then maybe look to Europe next season.

Baz: After the West Ham result it is now 50/50 if we get Europe. While it would be great to be back and see the Toffees conquering all, I think it's maybe a year too soon. We still have a big rebuilding job to do in the summer - full-backs, six, striker, plus cover for others, so focus on that and we will be targeting Champions League next year.

Gary: Yes I think we can. I do think we have the better run of fixtures. Moyes has to do something different at the front end. Barry in the last two games (Merseyside derby and West Ham) has been awful. I would have Ndiaye or George up top and the other on the left. Dibling needs more minutes and I think Graham from under-21s has a real shout as he is a prolific goalscorer but can he do it in the Premier League? You dont know until you try.

William: Everton into Europe? I don't see this current squad being lethal enough yet. We are desperately short of a decent striker, yes every Evertonian knows that, but had we won a couple more games we would be almost there now. I'm happy not looking at the relegation zone this season and strengthening the weak areas for next season and see where we are then.

Image source, Getty Images

Jack Grealish says his recovery from the operation he had on his season-ending foot injury is going extremely well and that his surgeon is delighted with the progress.

The 30-year-old England midfielder, who is on loan at Everton, had the operation on a stress fracture 10 weeks ago.

He suffered the injury during a 1-0 win against his former club Aston Villa in January.

"I feel really good in myself now. I had a 10-week Zoom call with the surgeon, who said it couldn't be looking any better at this stage," he told BBC Sport.

"So for me, it's happy days and so good to hear news like that."

Grealish has made 22 appearances in all competitions for Everton this season, scoring twice and providing six assists.

He has a year left on his Manchester City contract and BBC Sport previously reported that Everton would be interested in signing him on a permanent basis if they can negotiate a lower price than City's rough valuation of £50m.

Read more on Grealish's recovery here