Manchester City 1-1 West Brom: The Baggies grab deserved point at the Etihad

Manchester City got pegged back in the Premier League title race as battling West Brom earned a vital point at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw.

After a rather uninteresting Manchester derby performance, City needed a response and took the lead on the half-hour mark thanks to Ilkay Gundogan who struck clinically from a Raheem Sterling cutback, but the Baggies hit back before the break as Semi Ajayi’s strike deflected in off Ruben Dias.

City threw all they had at West Brom in the second half but the Baggies goalie Sam Johnstone was in inspired form as a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick and stoppage-time headers from Gundogan and Raheem Sterling were brilliantly kept out.

The draw places Pep Guardiola’s side sixth in the table, five points behind leaders Tottenham and Liverpool, while 19th-placed West Brom move to within two points of safety after securing an unexpected yet thoroughly-deserved point.

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• This result ended a run of eight straight Premier League home wins against promoted sides for Manchester City, since a goalless draw against Huddersfield in May 2018.
• West Bromwich Albion ended a 13-game losing streak against Manchester City in the Premier League, picking up their first point against them since a 0-0 draw in December 2011.
• West Brom picked up their first away point against Manchester City since August 2005, ending a run of nine straight league defeats at the Etihad.
• Man City’s haul of 26 shots was the most they’ve had in a Premier League home game without winning since August 2019 against Spurs (30).
• Rúben Dias’ own goal was the first goal Manchester City had conceded in 10 hours and 8 minutes of action in all competitions since Giovani Lo Celso’s strike for Spurs last month.
• Manchester City’s Ruben Dias is the third different Portuguese player to score a Premier League own goal this season, after Helder Costa and Nelson Semedo. Just three different Portuguese players had scored own goals in the previous 27 seasons in the competition combined (José Bosingwa x2, Abel Xavier, and Ricardo Rocha).
• Raheem Sterling has been involved in 148 goals in all competitions for Man City under manager Pep Guardiola (95 goals, 53 assists), more than any other player at the club since the Spaniard joined in 2016.