All that talk of a Manchester City procession to the Premier League title has been exposed as laughably premature.
Pep
Guardiola has now seen his side held domestically by Southampton,
Everton and Middlesbrough in consecutive home games following the shock
of conceding Marten de Roon's 92nd minute equaliser.
Sergio
Aguero had earlier put City ahead with his 150th goal for the club but
the Argentine won't be in any mood to celebrate the milestone this
weekend.
City's
perfect start – 10 wins out of 10 – following Pep's arrival suddenly
seems a long time ago. And it's not as if they can play Barcelona every
week.
Middlesbrough
goalkeeper Victor Valdes was in inspired form on his return to
Manchester where he spent an unhappy 18 months with United, making only
two appearances and falling out with Louis van Gaal.
He made a string of saves, most notably a world-class one from David Silva, before conceding to Aguero after 43 minutes.
City
dominated with 71% possession but couldn't make the game safe, paying
the price a couple of minutes after Aguero had departed to a standing
ovation, George Friend crossing to the far post where Dutchman de Roon
had peeled off Gael Clichy to power in a header for his first Boro goal.
Guardiola
was uncharacteristically graceless afterwards. Partly due to his
understandable disappointment and partly perhaps because Boro's manager
Aitor Karanka used to be No2 to Guardiola's nemesis at Jose Mourinho at
Real Madrid and had claimed pre-match that Mourinho was a better coach
than Pep.
'We played
well, we created more than enough chances to win the game. They played
with 10 players in the box for 90 minutes,' said Guardiola.
'If
we had won 1-0. we would be talking about a good performance. But when
you arrive in the last minutes just 1-0, anything can happen. We are not
good enough in the penalty area but we will improve.'
Asked
to compliment Boro's defensive steel, Guardiola snapped: 'I am not here
to talk about the performance of my opponent. Their coach knows better
than me the way they want to play. They scored with their only chance.'
Only
when talking about Aguero's 150th did the City boss lighten up. 'Big
congratulations. A huge mark, I only scored 11 in my career,' he smiled.
It was the talented Argentine's 150th goal for City which broke Middlesbrough's resolve in the November 5 tie
City must have feared a post-Barcelona hangover given the effort they put in against the Spanish champions on Tuesday night.
And Karanka – who masterminded a goalless draw at Arsenal a fortnight ago – didn't mind parking the bus again.
With Raheem Sterling rested, City took their time to put Boro under any pressure.
It
took them 20 minutes to register a first shot on target through
Aleksandr Kolarov but after that Valdes was tested at regular intervals.
He
saved from Aguero, took a kick in snuffing out Jesus Navas that left a
deep dent in his leg and showed outstanding reflexes to prevent Silva
from burying a golden chance from eight yards.
But
even he couldn't keep the ball out after 43 minutes when Kevin De Bryne
angled in a perfect low cross that Aguero exploded onto between
defenders Calum Chambers and Ben Gibson to score.
It
was the South American's 14th goal of the season and he stands sixth in
City's all-time scoring list. The leader Eric Brook on 177 will be
caught by the end of next year on current form though Guardiola will now
pray his marksman returns unscathed from World Cup duty.
Karanka
shook his players up at half-time. 'We showed City too much respect and
when you only defend against big teams, you are going to concede,' he
said.
'I told the
players we had to go and play with our intensity and style. That's what
we did and it was a much harder point than the one we got at Arsenal.'
Despite
Guardiola's narrative of a totally one-sided match, it was definitely
more even after the break. Claudio Bravo had to be alert to save from
ex-City striker Alvaro Negredo and Adam Forshaw.
At the other end, Aguero missed the target after set-ups by Jesus Navas and De Bruyne.
Even
so, he received a standing ovation as he left the field to be replaced
late on by Kelechi Iheanacho with everyone in the stadium believing at
that stage he was the matchwinner.
De
Roon's goal changed all that to leave City fans anxious about the title
race with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all in such close proximity.
For Boro, the hard-eared point meant that the earlier saves from Valdes counted for something.
The
Spaniard has had a tough time since leaving Barcelona, suffering a
serious knee injury at Monaco and then disappearing at United.
'I
am really pleased for him. I said when I signed Valdes that he is not
only a good goalkeeper but will be a leader in the dressing-room, an
experienced player,' said Karanka.
'It
was amazing when the goal went I in. I had players fighting for 90
minutes on the pitch and I know how important it is for us to keep
adding points.'
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