MANCHESTER, DECEMBER 26
Erling Haaland's penalty miss cost Manchester City as the four-time defending Premier League champion dropped more points in a 1-1 draw with Everton on Thursday.
Haaland had the chance to fire City on course for only its second win in 13 games when stepping up for a 53rd minute spot kick at the Etihad Stadium. But his tame effort was saved by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to extend City's woeful run.
Pep Guardiola's team has lost nine of its last 13 games in all competitions. The draw means City picked up only its fifth point in the league since the end of October.
Bernardo Silva's deflected shot gave City the lead in the 14th, but Iliman Ndiaye leveled the score in the 36th.
City is sixth in the standings and 11 points behind leader Liverpool, having played two games more. Liverpool has the chance to extend its lead over the champion when playing Leicester in the later kick off.
Haaland's missed penalty means the Norway international has only scored once in his last seven games. He headed in from the rebound, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Haaland, who last week admitted his form had not been good enough during a run that has seen City's season unravel, held his head in his hands after his failure to score from the spot. He still has 18 goals in 25 appearances this season, but has not scored in a win for his club since the 1-0 victory against last placed Southampton on Oct. 26.
"We shoot a lot in the 18-yard box, but unfortunately we could not get the results that we wanted," Guardiola said afterward.
City's damaging run has seen it slip down the standings in the league and crash out of the English League Cup. It is also in danger of missing out on the playoffs for the round of 16 in the Champions League - sitting just one point above the cut off point with two games to play.