Steven Naismith praised Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark for “a brilliant year” and for the way he has dealt with the increased pressure of having stalwart Craig Gordon pushing him for a starting place recently.
The 31-year-old former St Johnstone stopper made his debut for the Jambos a year ago and marked his 50th appearance with a penalty save and an 18th clean sheet in all competitions since taking the gloves as Hearts pulled off a dramatic 1-0 win at city rivals Hibernian on Wednesday.
Clark stepped in after Gordon suffered a double-leg break on Christmas Eve last year at a time when he was established number one for both Hearts and Scotland.
With the 40-year-old having made a remarkable recovery and forced himself back into contention for involvement in the matchday squad this month, Naismith paid tribute to Clark for the way he has coped with the spectre of such a highly-regarded goalkeeper breathing down his neck.
“I think there has been pressure put on externally,” said the Hearts boss. “I have been consistent with what I’ve said: Zander is a top goalie who has had a brilliant year.
“The circumstance he is dealing with is that there is a legend of the club, an unbelievable goalie, who is back fit.
“That is competition for places but it isn’t easy to deal with, especially as a goalie when there is only one position.
“But Zander has dealt with it perfectly. He is a top goalie. He took his chance a year ago, he’s come in and made his Scotland debut and he’s made a massive impact for us (against Hibs).”
Clark has kept 10 clean sheets in 19 league matches this term, underpinning Hearts’ recent surge to third place in the cinch Premiership.
Apart from free-scoring Lawrence Shankland, who snatched a stoppage-time winner on Wednesday with his 16th strike of the campaign, Hearts have struggled to get their forwards firing.
Asked how he would deal with the departure of the talismanic Scotland forward if he was to be sold in January, the manager said: “That’s part and parcel of football.
“I would want to get to a point where if a player leaves or you get a bad injury, you have a list there you can comfortably go at.
“We had it with Josh Ginnelly in the summer, who was a big part of last season for me. He moved on and we had to make different signings. When players go out of the team it creates an opportunity for someone else.
“I was at Kilmarnock when Kris Boyd scored all our goals. He went to Rangers in the January and everybody’s saying ‘what’s going to happen now?’ but me and Colin Nish stepped up and scored goals.
“It happens at every club. No matter who leaves, an opportunity arises for someone else.
“I’m comfortable with our squad. I think we’ve got a good squad. (Kenneth) Vargas, (Yutaro) Oda and (Kyosuke) Tagawa are still young.
“They have good moments and they have moments that can be better. But I think over time they can bring real quality to the squad. I’m comfortable with it all.”
Michael Schumacher’s one-time rival Damon Hill has described the German’s plight as a “terrible tragedy” and a reminder to “treasure every day”.
On Friday, it will mark 10 years since Schumacher’s skiing accident in the French Alps where he hit his head on a rock and suffered a near-fatal brain injury.
Schumacher, now 54, has been kept out of public view ever since, with only a handful of visitors allowed inside the family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland where he is receiving round-the-clock medical care.
The former Ferrari and Benetton driver claimed the first of his seven world championships following a controversial season finale in Adelaide in 1994 where he was accused of ramming Hill off the road.
Reflecting on Schumacher’s condition, Hill, 63, told the PA news agency: “It is a terrible tragedy. This is not how you want anyone to end up.
“It makes you treasure every day and be thankful for your good fortune. I think about his family. It is so hard for them.”
Updates regarding Schumacher’s health have been few and far between, and a representative for the family told PA that there are no plans to acknowledge the anniversary of his accident.
His wife Corinna, offered a rare insight on her husband’s state in a Netflix documentary in 2021.
“I miss Michael every day,” said Corinna, who has enforced a wall of secrecy to protect one of the biggest names in modern sporting times.
“But it is not just me who misses him. It’s the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. I mean, everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here.
“Different, but he’s here, and that gives us strength. We’re together. We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.
“‘Private is private’, as he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us and now we are protecting Michael.”
Schumacher added to the two titles he won at Benetton with five championship triumphs for Ferrari at the turn of the century, posting a series of records many viewed as untouchable.
Lewis Hamilton has since matched Schumacher’s collection of titles and surpassed his 91 wins. Hamilton, 38, who is contracted to drive for Mercedes until the end of 2025, has 103 victories.
Schumacher’s son, Mick, is currently a reserve driver for Hamilton’s Mercedes team having spent two seasons with Haas before he was dropped at the end of last year.
Defender Kyle Walker insists Manchester City have now drawn a line under their stellar achievements in 2023 and have set their sights on a strong second half to the season.
Capturing the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia last week “finished the piece” in Walker’s eyes in a year when a first Champions League title followed Premier League and FA Cup triumphs, with the UEFA Super Cup added for good measure in August.
Questions have been asked about whether Pep Guardiola’s side are lacking something this season after a run of one win in six Premier League matches, but the come-from-behind 3-1 win at Everton showed they are a long way from giving up on their title defence.
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And Walker believes with 20 matches still to come, trailing leaders Liverpool by five points, now is when City will come into their own.
“On the back of winning the Champions League we desperately wanted to win (in Saudi) and finish off the piece. It was good to go and finally tick that off the list,” said the 33-year-old.
“It’s important now to draw a line under it and it’s a big end to the season when we’re in the competition we want to fight for again.
“I don’t think there was many things going wrong on the field except the results. We were playing well, but this game is about winning and we weren’t doing that.
“But that’s football and in the Premier League you can never let your guard down, you’ve got to keep going until the last minute.”
The winning mentality of City’s players is one thing which is not in question after the consistency they have shown over several seasons and that was in evidence again at Goodison Park after falling behind to the Toffees’ first attempt on goal in the first half despite dominating.
Brilliant goals from the impressive Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva either side of a Julian Alvarez penalty turned things around to move City back into the top four and set their sights on the summit again.
“I think it shows the determination and belief in this squad. That’s what this team is all about, digging in, not quitting,” added Walker.
“We’re all good players, we can all play out there, but when the going gets tough it’s about a collective team performance that gets each individual if they’ve made a mistake or they’re doing well, to get you out of that stuff.”
Foden’s performance, playing centrally, was certainly a major factor in the turnaround and not just because of his goal.
In the extended absence of Kevin De Bruyne, who is edging closer to a comeback after a hamstring injury sustained in August, City have at times lacked that creative spark and the England international is one who can give them that.
“Phil’s unbelievable, the talent that boy possesses is incredible, but with this manager and this team and the calibre of players we’ve got, Phil needs to do it week in and week out,” said Walker.
“I think this season he’s really come into his own and took the responsibility on, where we’re missing Kevin or Gundo or Riyad (departed duo Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez).
“But I’m not patting him on the back. He needs to keep doing what he’s doing because I think the sky is the limit for him.
“Resting on a couple of good games is not going to put you in that calibre of the best footballers in the world.
“He’s got the potential, he needs to make sure the drive is still there, he keeps concentrating, keeps putting in the performances that he is doing.”
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil hopes Hwang Hee-chan will be fit to face Everton on Saturday despite going off injured at Brentford.
Hwang hit two first-half goals in the 4-1 win in west London but limped off before half-time with a back problem.
The 27-year-old has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, although Wolves will miss him for up to four matches when he jets off with South Korea for the Asia Cup next month.
“It’s just a back spasm, he’ll be fine for the Asia Cup. Hopefully we can get him back for our game against Everton as well,” said O’Neil.
“We’ll see. It’s a tight turnaround but it was only a back spasm and he’s moving a bit better than he was when he came off. Let’s see how he does over the next couple of days.
“It’s 10 goals for him now, so an unbelievable return. But I do have big faith in everybody, whether we have to play someone else or whether we have to use some of the under-23s or under-21s who are already on the bench then no problem.”
Mario Lemina and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde were also on target at the Gtech Stadium as Brentford imploded defensively.
Yoane Wissa pulled one back but the return of Ivan Toney following his suspension for breaking betting rules, likely to be at home to Nottingham Forest on January 20, cannot come soon enough with the Bees hovering just four points above the relegation zone.
“I think either if we were number one in the league, bottom or mid-table, we would look forward to getting Ivan back,” said boss Thomas Frank.
“It’s getting closer. We had an in-house game the other day and he scored two goals. I looked at him and he looked pretty good. It will be just like a new signing.”
Cheltenham and Newbury are two possible ports of call for Shishkin following his following his luckless run in the King George VI Chase at Kempton.
The nine-year-old was leading the field after jumping the penultimate fence in the Boxing Day highlight, only to stumble a couple of strides after the obstacle and unseat Nico de Boinville.
That was Shishkin’s first run of the campaign after he refused to start at Ascot in November and trainer Nicky Henderson felt he would have been staying on all the way to the line were it not for his mishap.
He said: “Shishkin is fine. I was a bit concerned that he might have hit something and occurred some damage but he doesn’t appear to have done so I’m 100 per cent happy on that front. It was just one of those things I guess.
“I’m not going to say he would have won, but the consensus of opinion is that he probably would have done as he wasn’t stopping.
“He was really coming up at every fence, and he seemed to be travelling well. I’m pretty sure he would have kept on galloping as he galloped all the way to the line at Aintree.
“Our biggest concern was that he hadn’t had a run. When he has not had a run he controls us, but we are now in control as he has got that run under his belt and he will be a much easier horse to train.”
Shishkin was having just his second start at three miles at Kempton, having previously delivered eight chase victories up to two miles and five furlongs, including the 2021 Arkle, the 2022 Clarence House Chase and the 2023 Ascot Chase.
Henderson switched Shishkin to three miles and a furlong for the Aintree Bowl back in April and he has the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase (January 27) and the Betfair Denman Chase (February 10) over staying trips on his mind.
The trainer said: “I don’t know what to do at the moment and we are just mulling it over. I don’t think we will come back in trip for the Ascot Chase, even though he did win that last year.
“You have got the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham and the Denman Chase at Newbury and they are the only two real possibilities for him before the Gold Cup.
“It will either be one of them, or none of them, but what he needs is experience and a nice clear round.”
While Shishkin was out of luck at Kempton, Jango Baie ensured the team did secure Grade One glory in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.
Previously run as the Tolworth at Sandown in January, the rescheduled and renamed contest produced a fine finish as Jango Baie held off Favour And Fortune by just under three lengths in the hands of James Bowen.
Henderson could now look to edge up in distance from an extended two miles with the four-year-old, as the trainer has strength in depth in the novice hurdle sphere with the likes of Jeriko Du Reponet and Willmount taking high order.
“It was great for James Bowen to get his first Grade One as he is a big part of the team here at Seven Barrows. He deserved it and so did the horse, while it was great to get a Grade One for his connections,” said Henderson.
“I’d like to see him run over a little bit further as I’m not sure that trip was far enough for him at Aintree.
“I’ve got a couple of other nice prospects to run this weekend, so we will see what they do then we will make a plan.”
Ben Stokes has hit back at Steve Harmison’s criticism of England’s Test preparation for the forthcoming tour of India.
Ex-England seamer Harmison, a former Durham team-mate and close friend of Stokes, believes that arriving in India just three days before the start of a five-match series is a recipe for disaster.
He claimed the tourists would “deserve to get beat 5-0” without spending longer acclimatising to conditions, drawing a curt response from the England captain.
Stokes replied to a video of Harmison’s comments, saying: “Good job we’re going to Abu Dhabi for a training camp before we go to India for even more training before that 1st test then isn’t it.”
England, who lost 3-1 in their previous Indian tour on spinning pitches, do not have any warm-up fixtures scheduled but hope to tune up for the series opener on January 25 with a week-long workout in the United Arab Emirates.
Harmison suggested that approach was insufficient, telling talkSPORT: “If England go in three days before they deserve to get beat 5-0, they really do.
“I’m an old man, that’s what they’ll say…times have changed, but preparation hasn’t changed. I love this new approach, I love Ben Stokes and (head coach) Brendon McCullum. But I’m sorry, going three days before…you’d never do that for an Ashes series.
“You’d never go to Australia three days before the Gabba, so why go three days before Hyderabad? For me it stinks, it absolutely stinks.”
Stokes, meanwhile, is racing to be fully fit for the first Test.
He underwent surgery on his longstanding left knee injury at the end of November and has been chronicling his rehabilitation with a sequence of videos on Instagram.
England are not expecting him to feature as a bowler but even having him available to bat pain-free would represent an improvement on recent times.
Posting from the gym on Wednesday, he wrote: “massive progress for the week”, “muscle symmetry coming back” and “finally able to get into the flexion needed for a spin on the bike, for something normally so easy it was very pleasing to be able to do [it] today”
Fastorslow will miss the Savills Chase at Leopardstown due to the testing ground.
Martin Brassil’s charge was due to clash with fellow staying heavyweights Galopin Des Champs and Gerri Colombe in a blockbuster renewal of the extended three-mile contest.
However, after 11 millimetres of rain in the last 24 hours, the ground at Leopardstown is now described as soft, soft to heavy in places – prompting Brassil to rethink running plans.
Fastorslow would have been meeting Galopin Des Champs for a third successive start, having beaten him in both the Punchestown Gold Cup at the end of last season and in last month’s John Durkan Chase on the pair’s respective seasonal bows.
Cameron Norrie is raring to go for the new season as he looks to put burn-out and a disappointing run of form behind him.
The British number one slipped from eighth in the rankings last October to 18th at the end of the 2023 season, losing nine of his last 11 matches.
Norrie started the year in fine fashion, beating Rafael Nadal, Taylor Fritz and Alex De Minaur at the United Cup before winning his fifth ATP Tour title in Rio, defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
View this post on InstagramBut that good form tailed off dramatically, and Norrie told the PA news agency: “It was still a great year but I was disappointed with the end of it.
“I played well in South America then I lost a lot of close matches towards the end of the year and the confidence dropped a little bit. I think that’s tennis. You drop slightly and that’s the difference between being ranked eight and being ranked 18. But I can’t wait for next season.
“I was winning every big match at the beginning of the year – every three-setter, every tough moment I was coming through and I was doing the right thing. It’s a good lesson there to hold onto that confidence and don’t take it for granted.”
Norrie, who is an ambassador for Lexus, is justifiably proud of the work ethic and dedication that has been a huge part of his rise to the top of the game.
But he also acknowledges that his efforts took their toll at the end of the season, with the 28-year-old taking two weeks off after a second-round defeat to Alexander Zverev in Vienna in October before returning for the Davis Cup Finals last month.
Norrie’s loss to Novak Djokovic ended Great Britain’s campaign in the quarter-finals but it was a performance that offered him encouragement for 2024.
“Next year for sure I’m going to look at the schedule and maybe take one or two weeks to really give myself another week’s rest or another week’s preparation to play well at the biggest tournaments,” said Norrie, who has added Australian Stephen Huss to his coaching team.
“It’s a tough one because you never know when you’re going to be burned out, what you can take. We played quite a lot but I was ready for every single week. I think I played more matches than anyone else in the last three years on tour.
View this post on Instagram“That can add up but I was feeling pretty good throughout the whole year and just a little bit towards the end when I was in Asia I think it just caught up with me a little bit and I just needed a small break. I took two weeks off and I came back and I was so pumped to hit the ball, so clear what to do.”
Norrie has been training at his home in Monte-Carlo, including trekking into the mountains with fitness trainer Vasek Jursik, and will begin his 2024 season on Friday when he teams up with Katie Boulter at the United Cup in Perth, where Britain will take on hosts Australia and the USA.
Reaching the top 10 may already have exceeded most people’s expectations for him but Norrie certainly does not believe he has peaked yet and, with Novak Djokovic turning 37 in May, he hopes he can be one of the players to take advantage of a forthcoming new era in the sport.
He said: “I want to win big tournaments. I just need to look at how to prepare for those, and I need to be playing my best for those.
“I need to stay very patient with myself. My team’s been excellent, I’ve got all the tools, so it’s just about preparing as well as I can and be ready to play well in the weeks where I have opportunities.
“There’s always going to be guys dominating, maybe (Carlos) Alcaraz, possibly (Jannik) Sinner, so there’s always going to be those top guys to beat, but it’s definitely an exciting time in the history of tennis and nice for me to be playing in it.
“I don’t see any reason why (I can’t be a contender). I’ve had wins over Alcaraz and some other top players. Everyone’s improving so it just gets tougher but I’m feeling good.”
What the papers say
Newcastle United are confident of landing England midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City , reports the Daily Telegraph. Juventus, Everton and Crystal Palace are also interested in the 28-year-old.
Manager Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are prepared to bolster the squad in January after injuries left them “exposed”, according to The Guardian. Arteta said the club would “try to make the right calls”.
Raphael Varane, 30, is being chased by former club Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, according to the Daily Mirror via Spanish outlet Sport. The Manchester United defender can negotiate a summer move from January with his contract up at the end of the season.
Any moves by Manchester United in the January transfer window will need to be cleared by Ineos after the company’s deal to buy a 25% share of the club.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Matthijs de Ligt: Arsenal are unlikely to make a move for the Dutch defender, 24, from Bayern Munich but he remains on their radar, reports The Athletic.
Antonee Robinson: Liverpool are interested in Fulham’s US full-back, 26, for a potential January signing, says 90 Min.
Former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech set a new Premier League record of 170 clean sheets on this day in 2015.
Cech moved ahead of David James’ previous best of 169 in the all-time list after Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.
He said at the time: “It’s a great personal achievement and I felt really proud at the end of the game because if you look at the names in the clean-sheet numbers and you see all those fantastic goalkeepers who had been playing and are still playing in this league then obviously it is a great achievement to top the list.”
The former Czech Republic keeper went on to rack up 32 more clean sheets for the Gunners in the English top flight to extend his current record to 202.
Cech became the first goalkeeper to register 200 shutouts in Arsenal’s 3-0 home win against Watford in 2018 after saving Troy Deeney’s penalty.
Having racked up 162 Premier League clean sheets during his 11-year career with Chelsea, Cech went on to notch another 40 with Arsenal before retiring at the end of the 2018-19 season.
He brought down the curtain on a glittering career after Arsenal were thumped 4-1 in his final match by former club Chelsea in the Europa League final in Baku.
The former Rennes goalkeeper returned to Stamford Bridge as a technical director upon his retirement as former team-mate Frank Lampard took the helm as manager in west London.
Chelsea registered the then 38-year-old in their Premier League squad in 2020 as a precautionary move to help in any possible coronavirus-related availability crisis.
Cech, who made 124 appearances in total for the Czech Republic during a 14-year international career, signed for National Ice Hockey League Division Two side Guildford Phoenix in 2019.
The 41-year-old joined NIHL Division One side Oxford City Stars in the summer of 2023 after a spell with Chelmsford Chieftains and switched to Elite League side Belfast Giants on loan in November.
Kris Letang became the first defenseman in NHL history with five points in a period and finished with six assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins pounded the New York Islanders, 7-0 on Wednesday.
Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin each scored twice and Tristan Jarry stopped 21 shots for his fourth shutout of the season as Pittsburgh stretched its point streak to four games (3-0-1).
Letang assisted on the final five of the Penguins’ six second-period goals to become the first player of any position in franchise history with five points in a period.
He is the seventh defenseman in league history with six assists in a game and the first since Calgary’s Gary Suter on April 4, 1986.
Pittsburgh scored six goals in a single period on the road for the first time since March 21, 2000, also against the Islanders.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 19 of 25 shots over the first two periods before he was replaced by Semyon Varlamov.
New York had a nine-game home point streak (6-0-3) snapped.
MacKinnon extends point streak but Coyotes rally
Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to 19 games, but the Arizona Coyotes overcame a 4-goal deficit and beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 on Jack McBain’s goal with 20 seconds left in overtime.
MacKinnon’s 19th goal with 6:34 left in the second period pushed Colorado’s lead to 4-0 but Lawson Crouse began Arizona’s comeback just over three minutes later.
Michael Kesselring and Jason Zucker scored in the third period before Sean Durzi netted the equaliser with 2:07 left in regulation.
MacKinnon’s streak is one short of the franchise record set by Paul Stastny in 2006-07. MacKinnon has an NHL-high 27 points in December, a career high for a month.
The Coyotes have won five of six following a four-game skid.
Surging Wild defeat Red Wings
Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno scored 52 seconds apart in the third period and the Minnesota Wild tallied four times in the frame in a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
Marcus Johansson scored twice and Kirill Kaprizov extended his goal streak to four games for Minnesota, which has won four straight and seven of eight. The Wild improved to 11-3-0 since John Hynes took over behind the bench – including seven consecutive home wins.
Patrick Kane scored for the fourth straight game as Detroit lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Kevin Durant registered a career-high 16 assists to go with 27 points and 10 rebounds in his 18th career triple-double on Wednesday, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 129-113 win over the Houston Rockets.
Durant shot 9 of 16 from the field and 3 of 7 from 3-point range as Phoenix snapped a three-game losing streak with it first road victory since Nov. 26.
Eric Gordon also scored 27 points in his first game back in Houston since being traded in February. He had 17 points in the Suns’ 43-point second quarter.
Alperen Sengun had 24 points and Jalen Green added 23 for the Rockets, who have lost four of six following a five-game winning streak.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams help Thunder win
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams scored 36 points apiece and Williams sank a pair of key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 129-120 victory over the New York Knicks.
Chet Holmgren added 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting as the Thunder followed Tuesday’s triumph over Western Conference-leading Minnesota with their fifth win in six games.
Williams scored 17 points on 6 of 7 from the field in the fourth quarter, including eight points and two 3s during a 10-2 run after the Knicks cut their deficit to five with 4:37 remaining.
Julius Randle had 25 points and Jalen Brunson added 24 for New York, which had won three of four.
Antetokounmpo, Bucks handle undermanned Nets
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away for a 144-122 win over the short-handed Brooklyn Nets.
Khris Middleton added 27 points and 10 boards and Cameron Payne and Malik Beasley each hit five 3-pointers as the Bucks improved to 10-2 this month.
Milwaukee shot 23 of 51 from 3-point range and 58.4 percent (52 for 89) overall to bounce back from a Christmas Day loss to the Knicks.
The Nets rested three starters (Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson) and barely played two others one night after a victory in Detroit extended the Pistons’ losing streak an NBA-record 27.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes their 3-1 victory in a “massive” game at Everton will serve as a reminder to their rivals not to write them off.
City arrived back from Saudi Arabia as Club World Cup winners looking to correct a record which had seen them win just once in six Premier League matches and drop off the pace in the title race.
But while they were away, results went in their favour which meant winning their two matches in hand on Liverpool would reduce the deficit at the top to just two points, and the first of those was achieved after they recovered from former winger Jack Harrison’s opener with goals from Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez – from the penalty spot – and Bernardo Silva.
“Really, really important. It was a massive game for us, coming from Saudi Arabia,” said Guardiola.
“We were really pleased with how we reacted and it proved again how special this group of players is and the mentality that we have in our bones.
“We want to be there. I know we are not top of the league, (but) a lot of things are going to happen.
“I never saw a Premier League where every game the teams down low and mid-table can beat everyone. There will be a lot of surprises and the thing is to be there.”
Guardiola said the Club World Cup was not only a distraction, but also helped refocus the players’ minds.
“I remember on the plane coming back from Saudi Arabia I listened to the players when they didn’t know I was listening and they started to talk about Everton,” he added.
“I said ‘wow, this is my team’. I have the feeling they still want to try.
“We play many games this season and people say we are not the same. We have lost one of the last 13 (not including the Club World Cup). We don’t talk enough about how good we are.”
The only downside to the game was an ankle problem for John Stones, who left the stadium wearing a protective boot, on only his fifth Premier League start of a season already significantly affected by injury.
“Hopefully the damage isn’t big and he can come back soon,” said the City boss, who is also hopeful Erling Haaland and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will be available soon.
Haaland has missed six matches with a foot problem while De Bruyne has not played since August because of a hamstring injury.
“He (Haaland) is training alone and getting better, it’s a question of when the pain will disappear,” he said.
“He’s not a skinny guy like Phil Foden, he’s huge and tall so it is more difficult sometimes.
“Kevin is close, but he had fatigue yesterday and we have to be careful. If you don’t handle the timings good you can get injured again.
“I’d love for him to play the next game or Huddersfield (in the FA Cup), but what is important is keeping him fit for a long time, not for one game or another.”
Everton manager Sean Dyche was frustrated by the award of the penalty for handball against Amadou Onana that allowed City to take the lead through Alvarez, but did not use it as an excuse.
“I don’t have a clue. No-one does. Is that deliberate? Of course not. I don’t know where you are supposed to put your hands,” he said.
“The lawmakers are making all these mad rules. I don’t know why they don’t leave the game alone. All the managers are frustrated with it. Maybe the referees are. The players definitely are.
“If he deliberately did that he must be some keeper. His reactions were cat-like. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“But they are still a top side. We know they make chances and you have to try to stop those, which we didn’t do.”
Steven Naismith believes Lawrence Shankland is well on his way to becoming a Hearts legend after his stoppage-time winner against city rivals Hibernian further endeared him to supporters.
The talismanic captain overcame the disappointment of an early penalty miss to score the only goal of a tense Edinburgh derby in the third minute of time added on with what opposing manager Nick Montgomery described as “a moment of quality”.
Shankland produced a lovely touch to take down a long kick-out from goalkeeper Zander Clark before creating space for himself in the box and curling a stunning shot high past David Marshall.
It was the Scotland forward’s 44th goal in a year and a half with Hearts and his 16th strike this term, making him one of the fastest-scoring Jambos hitmen of all time.
“I don’t think he is far off it (becoming a legend),” said the manager. “With his goal record, his goal return, are there many better than him and John Robertson (Hearts’ record goalscorer)? I’m not so sure.
“He is in that bracket for me. And I think there is still more to come. His goal return is unbelievable, but that’s his easiest part because he has done it his whole career.
“His hold-up play now, his standing in the game is miles from where it was when he was at Ayr or Dundee united.
“He understands the game, he is now a leader, he is the captain. He is an all-round centre-forward who I would argue is now the best finisher in Scotland.”
Shankland hit the post with a fifth-minute penalty before Hibs forward Martin Boyle saw a spot-kick pushed on to the woodwork by Clark in the 14th minute.
Naismith was pleased his side were able to keep a 10th clean sheet in 19 league matches as they kept themselves two points clear of Kilmarnock in third place with a game in hand.
“I don’t think the game was particularly great, it lacked quality in general,” said Naismith. “Some of our build-up was decent but then that calmness to find the right pass, we didn’t pick the right pass.
“It was a mental first 15 minutes with two (missed) penalties, but then when you have someone like Shanks it’s never over.
“Us having a good defensive structure and not giving up goals always gives us a chance. And when Shanks is there, you know that if he gets a chance he is more than likely to put it away, which he did.”
Hibs boss Montgomery admitted Shankland was the difference on a night when he felt his team merited at least a point.
“It’s a cruel game at times,” he said. “Both teams would probably have been happy with a draw, but it’s one moment of quality.
“It’s a quality strike and it’s why there’s so much in the media about him moving on. He’s one of the best strikers in the league and, apart from that one moment, we did keep him quiet.
“For large periods of the game we were very good, we just lacked that final pass, that final bit of quality to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
“Anyone watching that would’ve felt it was a draw.”
Hibs had Josh Campbell carried off the pitch on a stretcher in the second half.
“I think it’s a bad twist of his ankle,” said Montgomery. “It adds to the list of players we’ve got out at the moment, but hopefully it’s not as bad as first thought.”
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