An injury-ravaged Man City side struggled to break down Everton, as the Merseyside outfit sat deep and escaped from the Joie Stadium with a point.
Man City went into the game knowing failure to win would effectively end their hopes of Champions League qualification. But that motivation did little to inspire, with a City side depleted by injury showing little quality and consistently looking out of ideas in attack.
A bright start left the home team 1-0 up after just 13 minutes, with Kerstin Casparij tapping in from close range after some sharp work from Brazil forward Kerolin on the right hand side, followed by a defensive mix-up in the Everton six-yard box.
Despite going behind, Everton repeatedly looked dangerous on the break, with Toni Payne leading the line admirably. Sure enough, the Toffees equalised just after the 30-minute mark, with Sara Holmgaard whipping in a great ball from the left wing to find her twin sister at the back post, who converted with a bullet header.
City lacked spark in the second half, and while Brazil forward Kerolin looked most likely to break the deadlock, in truth the home side never did enough to genuinely challenge Everton's backline.
GOAL rates Manchester City's players from Joie Stadium…
Getty Images SportGoalkeeper & Defence
Khiara Keating (5/10):
Comfortable on the ball but at fault for Everton's equaliser, as a botched attempt to claim Holmgaard's cross left her out of position.
Kerstin Casparij (7/10):
Scored City's opener and celebrated by holding up a shirt with her injured teammate Fowler's name on it. Had a solid game defensively although wasn't challenged much by Everton.
Gracie Prior (5/10):
While her build-up play was decent, she failed to deal with the cross that led to Everton's equaliser, where Holmgaard stole in at the back post.
Rebecca Knaak (6/10):
Was slightly shaky after coming back from injury, with a couple of indecisive moments when trying to clear it from deep. Decent in building possession and trying to work it into central midfield.
Leila Ouahabi (6/10):
Tidy going forward and responsible for some good offensive crosses, but allowed Holmgaard too much space out wide for Everton's goal.
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesMidfield
Laia Aleixandri (6/10):
Looked comfortable on the ball and played some sharp passes at times, but ultimately struggled to break down Everton's tight defensive lines.
Yui Hasegawa (6/10):
Completed some nice dribbles and a couple of impressive defence-splitting through-balls, but ultimately gave the ball away in a key area in the build-up to Everton's goal.
Attack
Jess Park (6/10):
Looked comfortable on the ball and consistently tried to get things moving in midfield but struggled to click with more advanced players.
Laura Coombs (5/10):
Fairly absent throughout much of the game, looking strangled by Everton's solid low block.
Lily Murphy (6/10):
Added a bit of spark when on the ball, but her pacey dribbles often didn't come up and her ball retention could've been better.
Kerolin (7/10):
Always looked the most likely to score, but was forced to drop deep to pick up the ball at times when she became isolated. Had joy running at Everton's defence and stretching the back line, forcing a good save from Ramsey and having a decent penalty claim denied.
Subs & Manager
Naomi Layzell (6/10):
Replaced Knaak for the final half hour.
Laura Wienroither (6/10):
Came on for Murphy.
Nick Cushing (5/10):
City dominated the ball but just couldn't turn chances into goals.