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Pep Guardiola’s men did not manage to add the three points at home against the Baggies, who remained in position 19 in the table despite winning a draw
Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said match congestion is partly to blame after his team failed to defeat relegation-threatened West Brom at home on Tuesday.
Gundogan gave his team the lead with a goal in the 30th minute, but the Baggies tied before the break with an own goal from Ruben Dias.
Although City dominated for long stretches, they couldn’t break West Brom’s defense again and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
It was a second straight league draw for City, which also drew 0-0 at local rivals Manchester United on Saturday. With another game coming up on the weekend, Gundogan said the congested 2020-21 season is making it difficult for European teams to achieve sustained form.
“It’s almost impossible to have just one team at the top and dominating something, especially with the schedule coming up,” Gundogan said. BBC Sport.
“All teams in Europe are fighting to win matches in a row. But we have responsibilities and we should win these kinds of matches, especially at home.”
Man City had 76.9 percent possession and could have won late if not for the two massive stops in injury time by Baggies goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
Gundogan felt his team didn’t perform at their best, but could still have scored three points on a different day.
“We are human beings, not machines, we also fight. We know that we could have played better, but it seems that today is in the details,” added the German international.
“We deserved better, we had opportunities. I don’t know what to say, it’s disappointing to get a point, we have to win these kinds of games.”
“It’s not always easy this time of year, so many games, they defend so deep. They do well, they play with everything they have, they fight for every ball. It’s not easy to create opportunities but we did it – we just couldn’t score more than a goal.
“We have played great football in the past, we set a high level. The expectation is not just to come down. When you win, you must prove yourself again. You can see all over Europe that the great teams are fighting. It will be easier in the next few. weeks “.
