Everton may very well have ended the title race handing Manchester City a 2-0 defeat in a match that featured a good Everton goal wrongly disallowed for being offside and City not getting a clear penalty on a confusing decision from referee Lee Probert.
Everton vs. Manchester City: Final score 2-0, Toffees win a controversy-filled match over City
Leon Osman and Nikica Jelavic led Everton past Manchester City in a match that featured a wrongly disallowed goal and an incredibly poor decision by referee Lee Probert that robbed City of a penalty late.
Clive Brunskill
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Kevin Mirallas scored a wonderful goal, finishing off a cross from Seamus Coleman in the 13th minute. The linesman judged Mirallas to have been offside, but replays were conclusive that this was not the case. It happens, but Everton fans were none the less annoyed by the call.
In the 32nd minute, Leon Osman settled the ball 30 yards from goal and uncorked a curling shot that weaved its way past a couple heads and past Joe Hart, who either never saw the ball or just wasn't able to deal with the ridiculous swerve on the shot. Whatever the reason, Everton led 1-0 into halftime.
Everything got a little crazy in the 61st minute when Steven Pienaar foolishly went in late on Javi Garcia and clipped his shin with his studs. Referee Lee Probert was right on top of the play and after escaping a circle of nearly the entire City roster, showed Pienaar a second yellow card and sent him off.
Everton went into survival mode and held on for dear life.
In the 67th minute, Jan Mucha, starting in place of the injured Tim Howard, made a win-saving double-save on Carlos Tevez and James Milner. Mucha blocked Tevez's initial shot but left a rebound out in the area. Fortunately for Everton, Mucha remembered his training and got right back on his feet after the first save and scrambled across the face of goal to stop Milner's follow-up attempt.
Manchester City will be furious after the match thanks to a horrible call in the 88th minute that robbed them of a clear penalty. Tevez’s shot from 20 yards out was blocked by Fellaini with his hand, but for whatever reason referee Probert ruled that the handball occurred outside the box, despite the fact that the Belgian was a good five yards inside the area.
It was a stunning decision and City have ever right to be absolutely incensed at Probert, but the ball came very close to hitting Leon Osman’s hand outside the box before it hit Fellaini. It’s possible that Probert determined that Osman committed the first foul outside the box and awarded that foul.
Two minutes into stoppage time Everton hit City on the counter attack and sealed the victory when Nikica Jelavic's shot from just outside the area deflected up off Gaël Clichy's foot and over the extended arm of Joe Hart. City head coach Roberto Mancini walked off the pitch after the goal and straight down the tunnel in disgust before the final whistle was blown.
Steven Pienaar's red card is his second of the season and he will now miss Everton's next two matches against Stoke City and Tottenham. He'll be joined out by Marouane Fellaini, who picked up his tenth yellow card of the season and will be suspended for two matches as well.
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