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Rob dawsonCorrespondent
MANCHESTER, England – West Brom never won a Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium and started here at 19th in the table and with just one win all season, they were never expected to start now. That said, it says all about where Manchester City is right now that on Tuesday against the Baggies, it also didn’t seem likely that they would win.
It wasn’t until injury time that City began to create clear chances to win the game, but they found former Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone at the height of Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling’s point-blank headers and ultimately had to settle. with a 1-1 tie.
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It is not often during his reign that Pep Guardiola has needed more injury time and it was a testament to the way West Brom, who achieved only his second away point this season, frustrated his team that ended the night by visibly begging the fourth. referee. Anthony Taylor for more than the four allotted minutes. After Chelsea lost points to the Wolves, it was an opportunity to even Frank Lampard’s team with a game in hand, but in the end, it was a missed opportunity before a tricky trip to fourth place Southampton on Saturday.
Guardiola is clear where the problem is. Gundogan’s first goal after half an hour was City’s 18th goal of the season. On the same stage last season, they had already scored 35.
“You don’t have to be so smart to see the gap between this year and previous years,” Guardiola said later. “It is not confidence, Sergio Agüero has been injured for four months, but we create chances, we are there, we simply cannot score.”
City brought in Agüero in the 76th minute, but Bernardo Silva, Ferran Torres and Riyad Mahrez remained on the bench and Guardiola chose to make only two of the three assigned changes. His two main goal threats, Agüero and Gabriel Jesús, were on the court at the end, but Agüero is still looking for his first goal in the league this season and Jesús hasn’t found the net in over a month.
“We created enough to win the game, I think 26 shots, you just have to put the ball in, we are struggling with that.” Guardiola said.
“We have to be optimistic. You have to win games like this. We know, we lose points. These are the ones you have to win. It is not very far from the top of the league, but you have to beat West Brom at home. There are a lot left. matches “.
The only goal City scored was typical of Guardiola’s plan: Sterling reached the baseline before cutting a cross from Gundogan, but the relentlessness of previous seasons seems to be lacking. The movement is not so abrupt, the pass is not so fast. Game periods deviate in a way they never used to and while Johnstone made three good saves, West Brom’s defense didn’t walk away looking like they’d been ripped apart. While a point at Etihad will be seen as a bonus for Albion, it won’t ease the pressure on manager Slaven Bilic, who is threatened by having overseen just a 13-win win.
City’s night was summed up midway through the second half when Rodri picked up the ball from 25 yards and, with no options diving in front of him, opted to shoot into the stands to bring a cry of frustration from Guardiola on the touchline.
The home team’s lack of power would not have mattered if they had managed to maintain a club-record seventh clean sheet in a row, but Semi Ajayi finished that just before halftime with a scruffy shot that strayed from Ruben Dias for his own. objective. City are used to crushing West Brom, having won their last 13 games by a total score of 37-9, but this time the attack didn’t come until it was too late. Of his 26 shots, only seven hit home and 13 corner kicks ended in nothing.
“We didn’t create much in the first half, they had a lot of people back, it was difficult for us to win the second balls,” Guardiola said. “In the second half, we did everything that we couldn’t score. This situation is strange for everyone. We deserved to win the game, but we didn’t win it.”
City are still close behind leaders Tottenham and Liverpool after a fifth draw of the season, but Guardiola will be left to find solutions to problems in front of goal ahead of a frenzied five-game streak in 16 days around Christmas and New Year. Maybe Aguero is fit enough to start a game for the first time since October or Torres playing more often as a center forward.
For the Spaniard, however, it is a simple message for his players: “You have to throw a ball into the net.” This season for City it has been easier said than done.
