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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Jack Flintham

Man City defender John Stones accuses Everton of timewasting in draw

Manchester City defender John Stones criticised Everton for time-wasting after the two teams shared the spoils at the Etihad Stadium.

City had the better of the first half and were in front on 24 minutes when Erling Haaland beat Jordan Pickford after being set up by Riyad Mahrez. The game had an overall feisty feel to it and the Norwegian talisman was booked when he flew into a rash challenge just before the end of the half.

Any momentum City had following the interval evaporated when the game was halted for a long period after a technology malfunction for the assistant referee. Once the game restarted, Everton equalised.

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Rodri's error gifted the ball to Demarai Gray who took full advantage, scoring excellently. Several of Frank Lampard's men went down with cramp thereafter and a frustrated home crowd had to eventually settle for a point.

Speaking to Premier League Productions after the match, Stones shared the fans' frustrations. He said: "I don't really know what to say. I feel like we've lost two points.

"That's football. We controlled the game for the majority of the time and had a lot of chances but couldn't seem to get that goal. It's difficult to take after the game. We showed great character to keep fighting and pushing. It was a bit of a scrappy game. I'm very pleased with how we played. The result doesn't reflect that.

"When the game is so disrupted, a lot of time-wasting, that was part of the plan and we had to deal with that. We did and kept creating chances but it didn't come off. We have to take the positives.

"We had to go for it after that and go for as many players high up the pitch as possible. We definitely did that and had some great chances to win the game at the end.

"At the other end, it gets overshadowed how we defended. We conceded two shots all game but it's overlooked because of that incredible goal. On reflection we'll be more positive when we look back I'm sure."

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