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Manchester City is not playing at its best, as Raheem Sterling and others have admitted, and that result screams it out even louder than the unexpected lukewarm appearance in a boring and disappointing Manchester derby on Saturday.
West Brom deserves immense respect for not providing the expected lambs for slaughter. Although it was a neat and organized performance of a side off the bottom of the table, it appears Slaven Bilic will be shown the door on Wednesday.
Still, it was City’s inability to add urgency to the game that surprised the most. Their best chance of winning in regular time was a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick five minutes from time, although Sam Johnstone matched it and Ilkay Gündogan went under when he was barely touched anyway. With Gündogan and Sterling direct saves in the final five minutes, the Albion goalkeeper was a hero of the night, although the overall performance of the crowd was as impressive as City’s end.
« We’re buzzing right now, » said Johnstone. “We used our luck at times, but we defended very well and deserved the result. ”
Pep Guardiola said: « We didn’t create a lot, especially in the first half, but when you have 26 shots you have to put the ball in. « . At the moment we are struggling with that. We can’t score, but we have to be optimistic. ”
West Brom produced the first threat and could and should have resumed in the eighth minute. Conor Gallagher launched the attack which resulted in Karlan Grant intercepting a diversion from João Cancelo in the city area. Grant calmly took the ball around an overzealous Nathan Aké to improve the angle of his shot and found Ederson sportily dipping to his left to knock the shot away.
While Bilic would undoubtedly argue that his team is unable to miss the few gold-rimmed chances they have, credit goes to the goalkeeper for an excellent hand-to-hand stop.
The rest of the first half went more or less as expected, with the home team gradually pushing their opponents back with the quality and invention of their pass but occasionally overcomplicated things or not finding the right final ball. Cancelo, for example, had multiple options as he carried the ball to the edge of the field midway through the first half, but opted for a loft pass in the back of the box to pick out Benjamin Mendy, who in turn opted for a first -time volleyball that flew miles over.
When the first goal arrived after half an hour, it was pleasantly uncomplicated. Sterling ran right behind the West Brom defense, hit the ball on the goal line and then stood on cover from Kieran Gibbs to return a pass to Gündogan. He beat Johnstone from near the box. Bilic looked disappointed but resigned. It was the kind of goal that is difficult to stop City once you have possession and men on the edge of your area.
West Brom’s job was to make the break without cashing in again, and they must have feared the worst when Gallagher was booked for sliding up studded into Gabriel Jesus on the edge of the area, despite De Bruyne immediately took responsibility for the free kick of his delivery was abnormally overheated.
This left time before the break for the most unexpected event, a West Brom compensation, something else that made Gaurdiola visibly uncomfortable. His team couldn’t parry a free kick from the left sideline. A clearance attempt was directed back into danger by Romaine Sawyers and when Rúben Dias tried his header only found Semi Ajayi, whose shot went far until it hit the unfortunate Dias to create a distraction large enough to avoid Ederson to leave helpless.
City of course tried to react in the second half, but at first the result was chaotic as the chances were seized and attacking moves rushed. After Jesus got closer with a header from Gündogan’s corner, things got literally chaotic for the Brazilian, who met an elbow in the face at the next corner and needed treatment for a cut lip. While these were still mostly one-way streets, City’s normal dexterity and precision were lacking, and a Matt Philips shot that ran out shortly after the hour was a reminder that West Brom was still in the game.
Inevitably, Guardiola threw at Sergio Aguero before the end, and he also replaced the ineffective Mendy with Kyle Walker, who immediately dispatched a stabbing shot that could have found the top corner without Dara O’Shea bravely beating his head in the Corner stuck way.
The longer the game lasted, the more self-confidence and determination the visitors gained, temporarily defending with a six-man backline and reducing City and De Bruyne to long shots from a safe distance.
It was far from a happy night for the home team, but it could have been worse. Had the fans been down, they would almost certainly have complained. Just as Guardiola was finished, he was fortunate enough not to be censored, having spent practically the entire five minutes of added time chatting, occasionally handing over the fourth officer, Anthony Taylor.
Manchester City F. . C.. . , West Bromwich Albion F. . C.. . , Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Slaven Bilić
World news – AU – The malaise in Man City is growing, but Bilic is under pressure despite the West Brom draw
Ref: https://www.theguardian.com
