Everton ... 2 Manchester City ... 2: It was billed as the Chinese derby, an eagerly anticipated duel between the Orient's most celebrated footballing exports.

Pity, then, that many of the estimated 350 million viewers in the Far East must have retired to bed distinctly nonplussed by the time this uninspiring contest spluttered late into life.

With Chinese national and provincial stations broadcasting the meeting of Manchester City's Sun Jihai and Everton's Li Tie live and into the early hours, those who had not been lulled to sleep by the anaemic entertainment on offer were at least rewarded near the end.

Sun's cross might have earned City a fifth league win in seven had Li Tie not emerged from a mess of a match to prompt Tomasz Radzinski's equaliser three minutes into stoppage-time.

That goal, diverted beyond Peter Schmeichel after the Chinese midfielder had out-muscled Steve Howey and flicked on Steve Watson's hopeful punt, prompted the visiting players to sink to the turf in dejected disbelief.

"It was a real old-fashioned fourth division goal," sighed City's manager Kevin Keegan. "A 'lump it and chase it'."

The home manager David Moyes had punched the air in gleeful delight though few, not least the Scot, would have been fooled by this sloppy display.

This was only a seventh point gleaned from as many games, earlier momentum grinding slowly to a halt as his squad strains under the weight of fixtures.

"There were one or two of my players off colour and a few who have dipped a little bit," conceded Moyes. "But I've told them, 'Great stuff, you got a point'. We're not playing as well as we might, but we're not losing, and that's one more point towards the magical 40."

A relegation season hardly appears an option this time round, even though Watson's neat finish from Wayne Rooney's clever through-ball after six minutes aside, Everton created little of note until the game appeared beyond them.

To add to their worries, the teenage striker was booked for a fifth time this season and will now serve a further one-match ban on top of the three-game suspension earned last month.

He will be missed, though Moyes's squad should be supplemented over the next month.

The US striker Brian McBride and the Egyptian Ibrahim Said are both due to join on loan while Colin Healy may complete a permanent move from Celtic.

Extra bodies are likely to be needed at Maine Road as well - Keegan refused to comment about a £8.5 million move for Leeds' Robbie Fowler - though there was plenty on show here to suggest City will remain upwardly mobile.

Despite their occasionally creaky defending, the visitors will feel hard done by.

Victory would have hauled them within two points of the hosts; stalemate leaves a European place tantalisingly out of reach.

Even so, they relied on Richard Wright for their equaliser. Wright inexplicably dropped Ali Bernabia's innocuous cross for Nicolas Anelka, hovering more in hope than expectancy, to prod his 10th goal of the season into the net.

Thereafter, City were dominant with Bernabia dragging an attempt wide and Marc-Vivien Foe twice failing to hit an empty net.

His third chance, from Sun's pin-point cross, was converted eight minutes from the end for the Cameroonian loan player's sixth goal in as many games. Sun must have thought that assist had won this battle only for the substitute Radzinski to flatten that dream.

"That we're disappointed coming to the fifth-placed team and only taking a point shows how far we've come, as well as how far we could go," added Keegan.

"But Everton deserve credit for sticking with it." The same might be said for those viewers yawning from Beijing to Xi'an.

Guardian Service

EVERTON: Wright, Yobo (Carsley 45), Weir, Stubbs, Naysmith, Watson, Tie Li, Gravesen (Gemmill 56), Pembridge, Campbell (Radzinski 45), Rooney. Subs Not Used: Baardsen, McLeod. Booked: Rooney. Goals: Watson 6, Radzinski 90.

MAN CITY: Schmeichel, Dunne, Howey, Distin, Jihai, Wright-Phillips, Benarbia, Jensen, Horlock, Foe, Anelka (Huckerby 81). Subs Not Used: Wiekens, Goater, Nash, Mettomo. Booked: Jensen, Horlock. Goals: Anelka 33, Foe 82.

Referee: A D'Urso (Essex).