Manchester City pay the penalty for lack of practice in draw with Everton

Pep Guardiola admitted his Manchester City players had not practised penalties before they missed two during a 1-1 draw at home to Everton.

Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero both had spot kicks saved by goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg before substitute Nolito’s header earned a point for City.

For Aguero, it was a second miss of the week, after he failed to convert a penalty for Argentina during a 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat at home to Paraguay on Tuesday.

Guardiola, though, insists he has bigger priorities than penalty practice as he attempts to get his team back to form.

Asked if his players had practised penalties, he said: “No. I don’t have time to practise everything I want to practise.

“You can practise penalties in training, but in training, no one [a crowd] is there.