Ben Godfrey has hailed the character of his teammates after a battling 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad, and revealed Erling Haaland was left 'upset' after their battle.
Everton came away from Manchester with a point that few had anticipated, with Demarai Gray curling home a wonderful second-half finish to cancel out Haaland's opener. Pep Guardiola's side continued to turn the screw throughout the final half-hour but were unable to find a winner, with Rodri squandering their best chance after sending a header wide in stoppage time.
Frank Lampard arrived at the Etihad with a plan to frustrate the Premier League champions, adding Godfrey to a back three alongside the ever-present James Tarkowski and Conor Coady. The trio - along with Nathan Patterson, Vitalii Mykolenko and then Seamus Coleman off the bench - showed all their battling character in keeping out a relentless City side and end a dismal 2022 on a somewhat more positive note.
AS IT HAPPENED: Man City vs Everton LIVE - final score, Demarai Gray and Erling Haaland goals, highlights, Lampard reaction
"Massive,” Godfrey told Sky Sports when asked how big a point that was. “I think we showed our character today. We've always had a team spirit. That's the standard. Work rate and togetherness. It feels good to get a point.
"It's always going to be tough. I don't need to tell you Erling Haaland's a good player. I just had to do my job. Yeah of course he was [upset]. You could see his reaction. He got his goal and is always causing people problems and it's those challenges you have to look forward to.
"You come here and give yourself a chance to score and we did that. I've seen Demarai [Gray] do that day in, day out in training. It's nothing less than he deserved. To be 1-0 down at half-time, it's easy to let that get to you but we knew we would get a chance. We'll take the point.
"The Boxing Day result was upsetting. To concede so late on was never nice. That highlights our character to have such a disappointing result then come to a place like City and get a result."
Everton remain in 16th with the point, having overtaken West Ham on goal difference due to their defeat at home to Brentford last night, but now sit two points clear of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final relegation place.
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