Demarai Gray believes it is in Everton’s 'DNA' to fight and battle as he opened up on what was going through his mind ahead of his wonder goal against Manchester City.
The Blues ended a four-game losing streak at the Etihad after coming from behind to earn themselves a point. Erling Haaland scored his 27th goal of the season when he turned home Riyad Mahrez's first-half cross to give the reigning Premier League champions the lead. However, Gray scored a stunning equaliser 19 minutes after the break to ensure his side returned to Merseyside with a 1-1 draw.
There were a number of flash points during the 101 minutes of action. The major one came when Haaland was booked for a lunge on Vitaliy Mykolenko midway through the first half after previously being caught by Ben Godfrey. The prolific striker then left James Tarkowski on the floor with a flailing arm as he shielded the ball.
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Speaking post-match, City boss Pep Guardiola wouldn’t directly criticise referee Andy Madley but hinted his players have come to expect not being protected. But when asked if Everton’s gameplan was to disrupt the hosts, Gray claimed no matter who they play, they should be 'fighting and digging deep for results'.
He said: “I don’t think it’s just when we play City, it’s part of our character, and the club’s DNA, fighting and digging deep for results. We left everything out there today.”
Before he added: “On the back of our last performances, football-wise, it was a massive improvement today. Obviously when you come to the Etihad you have to change your game plan a little bit but obviously we had a plan and stuck to it well.
“We got our reward with the goal and after that we dug deep so there are a lot of positives to take.”
Gray was then asked what the key to stopping City was, and he said: “Sticking to the game plan.
“You have to approach games a bit differently, especially when you come to the Etihad, if we are at home, we can give anyone a challenge, but coming here it’s difficult so sticking to the gameplan was key and we did that.”
After digging deep and refusing to crumble after falling behind, the Blues were in need of a spark of inspiration - and Gray provided it with a sensational equaliser. It was Everton's only shot on target.
Rodri played a loose pass to Idrissa Gueye, who fed Gray down the left. The winger initially slipped but showed great resourcefulness to regain balance, cut inside and let fly with a curled finish that flew into the top corner of Ederson’s net.
The former Leicester City man had initially waited for team-mate Mykolenko to make the overlap before opting to cut inside and let fly.
“You look up, and there’s a lot of blue shirts and you are just like…I don’t know what I’m going to do here but there are important moments in the game,” Gray revealed when asked what was going through his mind.
“We focused on the transitions and where we could hurt them. Me personally I am just always confident in the final third and trying to create a yard.
“Myko helped me a lot by making a run and creating a bit more time for me… and I slipped, so… eer yeah, it worked out well for me and I was happy to see it go in the top corner.”
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