Maarten Stekelenburg was the hero as Everton earned a point at high-flying Manchester City.

Ronald Koeman’s side more than held their own against his former Barcelona protege Pep Guardiola with Stekelenburg proving the stand-out performer.

The Dutch goalkeeper delivered a man-of-the-match performance and saved penalties either side of the interval to deny Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.

A surprise away lead opened up for the Blues in between them, when Romelu Lukaku struck his sixth goal of the season against the run of play.

But the advantage lasted just eight minutes as Nolito headed the hosts level from a David Silva cross to ensure that honours ended even.

Here were the key talking points from the Etihad Stadium…

Stekelenburg steals the show

 

It would be easy to deride Maarten Stekelenburg after his howler gifted France maximum points in their midweek World Cup qualifier.

But the Dutch stopper proved that he is not a spent force just yet.

Repelling penalty attempts from Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero is no mean feat – especially as the pair were warming up to take on Barcelona.

Stekelenburg was again on-point to deny De Bruyne with an impressive sprawling save that turned the Belgian winger’s powerful effort onto the post.

Those who condemned him as a fading force and sparked doubts were well and truly left with egg on their face – the 34-year-old was world-class.

Evergreen duo keep it tight

 

The partnership between Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams continues to develop, but it was not without its flaws at the Etihad Stadium.

An experienced defender such as Jagielka should not be guilty of a rush of blood to the head in high-profile games, let alone on multiple occasions.

Stekelenburg’s heroics spared his blushes after conceding successive penalties but the Everton captain went on to recover his competence.

Williams, alongside him, was even less faultless; making 13 clearances in total to surpass those of any other player on the pitch in east Manchester.

The antics of their goalkeeper may have kept Everton in the hunt against City but Ronald Koeman’s evergreen duo also deserve a lion’s share of the credit.

Lukaku back to his best

 

The goals just keep on coming for Romelu Lukaku.

His run of form since opening his account for the season against Sunderland makes the previous 13 games without scoring for Everton a genuine anomaly.

Much has changed since those doldrum days under Roberto Martinez, especially with the Belgian now indisputably back on the goal trail.

Gael Clichy simply could not handle a bustling Lukaku midway through the second half as he opened the scoring with a sixth strike in five games.

In fairness, few defenders would fancy their chances against the 23-year-old when he is in this blistering form – and shows how signs of slowing down.

Wide-boys need to wise up

 

Given the respective renaissances of Gerard Deulofeu and Bryan Oviedo, the pair’s inclusion should have offered a fresh dimension against City.

But the pair were largely anonymous as they failed to cope with the hosts’ intensity at both ends of the Etihad Stadium pitch.

There is unlikely to be any danger of Deulofeu being called back to the Nou Camp next summer if his current showing is a reliable barometer.

Oviedo was not much better with De Bruyne regularly getting the better of him as the Costa Rican made Leighton Baines’ absence even more sorely felt.

Neither are likely to be among Koeman’s first names on the team sheet any time now or even in the near future unless they begin to wise up.