Manchester City missed two penalties before rescuing a 1-1 draw against Everton at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.
Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero both saw spot kicks saved by Maarten Stekelenburg, but ultimately it was Nolito who prevented the hosts from suffering back-to-back defeats when he cancelled out Romelu Lukaku's opener.
The match was the first managerial meeting between former Barcelona teammates Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman, and it was Guardiola who took control early on against his old mentor despite leaving Aguero out of his starting lineup.
Playing with three at the back, City dominated possession and territory throughout the first half, although Everton's stubbornness at the back made clear chances tough to come by for the hosts.
Indeed, City were forced to settle for long-range shots for the most part, with Bryan Oviedo deflecting the returning De Bruyne's effort over the crossbar before Raheem Sterling's low strike drew a rare save from Stekelenburg.
© SilverHub
David Silva was the next to let fly from range, hitting a powerful strike towards goal shortly before the half-hour mark, but this time it sailed narrowly over the crossbar.
De Bruyne dragged another shot wide moments later before the hosts finally created their first golden chance of the contest when Silva was tripped by Everton skipper Phil Jagielka inside the penalty area.
Referee Michael Oliver had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, but with Aguero on the bench it was down to De Bruyne to take on spot-kick duties and the Belgian saw his penalty pushed away by Stekelenburg.
A dominant half was ultimately one of frustration for the hosts as they went into the break level, and it didn't take long after the restart for Everton to provide a warning shot when Gerard Deulofeu's powerful strike was tipped over by Claudio Bravo.
City responded with their best chance from open play of the game so far two minutes later when Leroy Sane, making his first Premier League start for the club, fed a low ball in towards the near post that Kelechi Iheanacho flicked against Stekelenburg.
© SilverHub
Guardiola soon turned to Aguero in an attempt to find the elusive breakthrough, but it was another in-form striker who got the opening goal as Lukaku gave the Toffees an unlikely lead against the run of play.
Everton hit their hosts on the counter-attack with Yannick Bolasie flicking it through to Lukaku, who beat Gael Clichy before tucking his finish into the bottom corner with aplomb - his sixth goal in his last five Premier League appearances.
City had a glorious chance to level things up just five minutes later, though, when Jagielka conceded his second penalty of the afternoon, hacking down Aguero just inside the area.
The Argentine striker, who had scored 28 goals in his last 28 league games before today, stepped up to take this one himself, but once again Stekelenburg came to the rescue by making an almost identical save to his first stop - Man City's fourth missed penalty of the season.
The Everton keeper's work was by no means over, however, and he was called upon to make another fine save to deny Aguero moments later, clawing an effort wide of the target when it looked destined for the top corner.
© SilverHub
There was nothing Stekelenburg could do about City's eventual equaliser, though, as Nolito made an immediate impact by nodding Silva's devilish ball into the bottom corner just a minute after being introduced in place of Sane.
With the threat of Guardiola losing back-to-back league games for the first time since May 2015 seemingly abated, City went in search of a victory that would extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table and came within inches of grabbing a winner when De Bruyne's powerful strike was sensationally tipped against the woodwork by Stekelenburg.
That proved to be the final throw of the dice for the home side and, despite the late positive of seeing Vincent Kompany return from injury as a stoppage-time sub, City were forced to settle for a point that extends their winless streak in all competitions to three matches.
Despite that, Guardiola's side remain top of the Premier League table on goal difference above Arsenal, while Everton drop to sixth having now gone four games without a win in all competitions.
The Toffees are, however, the first team to avoid defeat to Guardiola's City at the Etihad Stadium, with the home side's 100% record in front of their own fans coming to an end.
Barney Corkhill
