James Tarkowski suggests two Everton players were partly to blame for Everton’s defeat vs Man City

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James Tarkowski appeared to suggest that two Everton players were at fault for Manchester City’s opening goal yesterday.

Once Erling Haaland broke the deadlock just before the hour mark at the Etihad Stadium, it was always going to be a difficult task for Everton to regain control.

Manchester City had the wind in their tails then, and Haaland was able to score a second in quick succession.

Speaking to Everton’s website after the game, James Tarkowski was reluctant to admit that two Toffees players made an error that really cost them the game in the end.

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James Tarkowski appeared to question Jake O’Brien and Iliman Ndiaye for Man City goal

Tarkowski was pleased with elements of the performance, but he was disappointed with how easy it was for Haaland to net the opening goal.

It looked as though there was a mix-up between Iliman Ndiaye and Jake O’Brien, which allowed Phil Foden to cut them open with a simple through ball.

“And then a simple pass behind us opened us up and if you give a player like Haaland a chance, he’s usually going to put it away and that’s what he did today,” Tarkowski admitted.

“You just don’t want to give him a chance at goal because he usually scores them, like he did from the cross. Before that, we’d managed them quite well, we shut the space, defended well.

It looked as though O’Brien was dragged in by Doku and Ndiaye lost the runner, Nico O’Reilly, who crossed in for Haaland to head home.

Certainly harsh on those two, but the game was ultimately decided by that very fine margin.

Iliman Ndiaye was the best player on the pitch

Aside from that error, Ndiaye was outstanding and even Manchester City fans were blown away by his performance.

Some City fans even urged Pep Guardiola to sign Ndiaye on social media after the game, and Moyes was full of praise for his number 10.

“I thought Ili’s performance in the first half was outstanding,” the Scotsman said. “I thought he was a standout player at that time in the game.

“I just saw signs that he had fatigue during the game because of (recent internationals), and even the (first) goal, we just get it a yard wrong from stopping the pass going through.”