Everton striker Romelu Lukaku turns away after putting his side 2-1 ahead but was substituted immediately afterwards after sustaining an injury. Photograph: Alan Martin/ActionPlus/Corbis
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku turns away after putting his side 2-1 ahead but was substituted immediately afterwards after sustaining an injury. Photograph: Alan Martin/ActionPlus/Corbis
And that’s that! Goodison erupts in celebration of Everton’s first-leg victory. The home side have been brilliant tonight, the better side. On that basis they deserve the narrow win, though City will point to the penalty that should have been given but wasn’t. It promises to be a cracking second leg at the City of Manchester Stadium in three weeks. This tie could go either way. But as things stand, unless the Cities of Manchester and Stoke can do something about it, the 2016 League Cup final will be a Merseyside affair.
90 min +3: Coleman hobbles off down the tunnel with the world’s largest icepack strapped to his left leg. On the pitch, Everton continue to run down the clock in the professional style.
90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. During the first, City replace De Bruyne with their last sub Fernando, which suggests they don’t think 2-1 is an awful result in this two-legged affair.
90 min:Everton play some rather impressive keepball, going up and down the right wing, Kone, Besic, Barry and Mirallas with the party tricks under extreme pressure.
88 min: Coleman is getting some treatment. And now he’s going off. Everton taking no chances. They’ve got no subs left, so will see this game out with ten men. Goodison, sensing a famous victory, was tense enough already.
86 min: Besic has a pop from 25 yards, but his shot is deflected off Otamendi and arcs harmlessly into Caballero’s arms. Then another Everton attack, with Mirallas skinning Demichelis down the right wing, but his low cross is behind Kone and cleared by City.
83 min: Osman fouls Aguero 25 yards from the Everton goal. A free kick in a very dangerous position. Toure looks to bend one into the top right, but slaps the ball into the wall instead.
The Everton wall does its job. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
Everton regain the lead almost immediately! Baines and Barkley keep possession down the left. The ball’s slipped outside for Barry, who from a deep position swings a ball into the City box and onto the head of Lukaku, who has a jump on Otamendi and Demichelis. He can’t miss, and doesn’t! Two minutes and six seconds between the goals. Goodison is bouncing.
Romelu Lukaku gives Everton back the lead. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
Fernandinho, to the right of his own D, launches a huge diagonal ball upfield to Aguero on the right wing. Aguero draws the only two Everton defenders in their own half, and slides a pass between them and out to the left, where Navas is totally unmarked. Navas takes a touch to enter the box, and finishes confidently under Joel.
Jesus Navas shoots ... Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters
The ball squeezes past Everton keeper Joel Robles and into the net for the equaliser. Photograph: Magi Haroun/Rex/Shutterstock
Then gets max air during his celebrations. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
75 min: Barkley slides the ball wide right for Mirallas, whose deep cross nearly finds Osman at the far post. Otamendi heads clear brilliantly. But Everton come again, Baines gliding in from the left and sending a shot goalwards from 20 yards. It’s deflected out for a corner, spinning wildly to the right of the City goal. The corner is cleared by City, who break upfield ...
72 min: Silva is bowled over by Besic. De Bruyne blooters the free kick, 25 yards out in a promising position, straight into the wall. The away team are beginning to apply some pressure.
70 min: City should have a penalty kick. Navas enters the area down the right and has his heel clipped by Mirallas. The referee isn’t convinced. Hmm. City come again, De Bruyne sending a low fizzer towards the bottom right from 25 yards. Joel tips round the post marvellously, and the set piece comes to nothing.
69 min: Baines, romping down the left, wheechs a low cross into the box. Lukaku is waiting to tap home, but Demichelis is on hand to block out for a corner. The set piece is dealt with easily enough.
68 min: Mirallas comes on for Deulofeu. Meanwhile here’s Harley Freemantle with an answer to the Simon McMahon related question of 56 mins: “Is it Lochee United?”
67 min: This is a very pleasant end-to-end nonsense now. First Aguero scampers into the Everton box to the left of goal after a loose ball, and very nearly crafts an opening. Then up the other end, Barkley sends a long-range snaker towards the bottom left, but it’s easily gathered by Caballero.
65 min: The teams should be level. Everton should be 2-0 up. Barkley brushes Otamendi aside down the Everton left. He’s clear in the area, albeit facing a tight angle. He’s got Lukaku inside as an option, but goes for the curler towards the bottom right. Nope! Lukaku has a face on, and he might have a point.
63 min: Aguero bustles into the area down the right and wins a corner. From the set piece, Fernandinho heads straight at Joel from close distance, and weakly to boot. The teams should be level.
62 min: Predictably, here’s De Bruyne firing a dangerous ball through the Everton box from the right wing. Pulitzer, please! Aguero does his best to latch onto the cross, but Stones eases him out of the way and the danger’s cleared. Then within the minute, De Bruyne again finds space on the right wing. He slips another low cross into the area. Silva cushions it back for Aguero, who should score from the penalty spot but lashes a shot high and wide left.
All eyes are on the ball as Sergio Aguero shoots, but it’s high and wide. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters
58 min: A deep cross into the Everton area from the right wing is met by Sagna, six yards out on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. But Coleman is standing his ground, making things awkward, and Sagna’s header sails lamely wide left.
57 min: Deulofeu dances around on the right-hand edge of the City box. He eventually shovels a chip towards the top-left corner. It should be an easy catch for Caballero, but the City keeper flaps a panicked hand at the ball, sending it off towards the left-hand corner flag. The danger’s mopped up by Sagna, but there’s an illustration of City’s inner turmoil at the moment. It’s a very uncertain display by the favourites for this tie.
56 min: Barry slides a ball down the inside-right channel for Barkley, who embarks on a Gazza-style dribble into the area. He nearly works space for a shot, but over-runs the ball slightly, allowing Caballero to come out and knock it against his shins and out for a goal kick. City are hanging on a little here. “I got a tired football joke in my Christmas cracker last year. It simply said ‘Dundee United’.” One guess who Simon McMahon supports, people.
Everton’s Ross Barkley can’t take the ball round City keeper Wilfredo Caballero. Photograph: JMP/Rex/Shutterstock
54 min: An incandescent Pellegrini - well, it’s all relative, but this famously unflappable man is frowning a bit - hooks the idiotic Delph before he gets himself sent off. Jesus Navas comes on in his stead.
52 min: Besic launches a speculative effort from 25 yards on the right. Caballero gathers it easily enough. City need to wake up, or they could soon find themselves in all sorts of bother here.
51 min: Delph is booked for a late slide on Besic. He’s lucky to still be on the pitch, given that earlier challenge on Deulefeu, and needs to calm down lickety-split.
50 min: City haven’t come out for the second half yet. First Deulofeu whips a cross from the right to the far post. Osman can’t quite connect properly with his header. Then Barry slides Barkley in down the left. Barkley whips a low cross through the six-yard box. Lukaku is inches away from connecting with a toe for a certain goal. Or a certain offside goal, as the flag would surely have gone up again. Whatever, City aren’t on their game at all here.
49 min: Baines gets himself out of a tight spot on the left and flicks the ball inside for Barkley, who’s free in the area. But his shot is wild, and once again the flag goes up for offside anyway.
48 min: Osman plants his studs on Sagna’s thigh. He should be in the book, too. But again the referee swans around in the insouciant style. The game restarts. Deulofeu curls into the City box from deep on the right. Lukaku has a yard on Demichelis, and hoicks a dreadful first-time shot over the bar from 12 yards, but his blushes are saved, as he’s well offside.
That’s gonna hurt. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
46 min: Delph tosses Deulofeu into the air like an old sock. Utterly pointless, as the Everton man was deep inside his own half. Delph really should have been booked for that, but he escapes censure. “Putting tired football jokes to bed (33 min)?” begins an opportunist Matt Dony. “Ah well, the Fiver was fun while it lasted.” Was it? “While we’re at it, can we also retire the ‘Of course, only people from outside Manchester support United, fnarr fnarr,’ line? Even as a Liverpool fan, this has gone too far.”
A lot of football to be played in both ties, of course. But we may as well say it: as things stand, it’ll be a Merseyside cup final, the first in this competition since 1984. City get the ball rolling for the second half. They’ve replaced Mangala with Demichelis. Meanwhile Osman has come on for Cleverley.
GOAL! Everton 1-0 Manchester City (Funes Mori 45+1)
There will be two added minutes. Everton win a corner on the right. It’s headed over by Sagna. The second finds Barkley to the left of the D. He hammers a shot straight at Caballero, who parries. The ball breaks loose. City’s defence, to a man, stand still. Funes Mori is the only player to react, and he slams a shot home from eight yards.
Ramiro Funes Mori opens the scoring. Photograph: BPI/Rex/Shutterstock
Here it is from another angle. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters
The City players claim offside but he wasn’t so the goal stands. Photograph: Magi Haroun/Rex/Shutterstock
Ramiro Funes Mori wheels away in celebration. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
43 min: Suddenly, it’s end to end. Silva jigs down the left and slips the ball forward for Aguero, who looks to have been stopped by Stones, but drags the ball back to make some more space and cracks a shot goalwards from a tight angle. Joel parries brilliantly. City hack clear.
42 min:Everton have the ball in the net again, and once more it’s disallowed. No question about this whatsoever. On the edge of the City area, Deulofeu teases four defenders all at once, drawing them towards him. He flicks it forward to Lukaku, on the penalty spot. Lukaku toe-pokes it past the advancing Caballero, but he’s miles off.
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku scores but the goal is ruled out as he’s miles offside. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters
