SERGIO AGUERO
The Argentine reached a notable landmark on what proved a
bittersweet afternoon as his side failed to make their pressure count.
Marten de Roon struck late for Middlesbrough as Manchester
City were made to pay for failing to add to Sergio Aguero's 150th goal for the
club in a 1-1 Premier League draw on Saturday.
City absolutely dominated the game at Eithad Stadium, but
former Barcelona player Victor Valdes produced an inspired performance in the
Boro goal to ultimately deny Pep Guardiola, with whom he enjoyed four
glittering years in Catalonia.
Aguero had pounced late in the first half to put City ahead
following a frustrating opening period.
However, the Teessiders left Arsenal with a point in their
last away game, had only lost once on their travels previously, and the menace
they had showed on the break elsewhere this season slowly came back into their
game.
It was an unlikely goalscorer, De Roon, who popped up to
thump a header past the helpless Claudio Bravo in stoppage time, sending Boro
fans into raptures.
Evoking memories of their 2-0 FA Cup win here as a Championship
club two seasons ago, Boro's impressive defence looks to be the making of their
Premier League survival bid.
Guardiola, however, will lead the inquest into how his side
managed not to win this game and failed to back up their stunning 3-1 Champions
League success over Barcelona in midweek, with Arsenal and Liverpool now able
to knock them off top spot.
Boro clung on for grim life in a first half that saw City
resume their typical gameplan of stifling possession after Tuesday's
counter-attacking brilliance.
However, for all that Guardiola's team probed and passed,
Middlesbrough - and especially Valdes - met them with stern resistance.
Aleksandar Kolarov, Aguero and David Silva were all repelled
by Guardiola's former Barca number one, with Valdes and the centre-back pairing
of Calum Chambers and Ben Gibson also on hand to cut out a string of low
crosses from either flank, a tactic City persisted with until it finally worked
two minutes from the interval.
Kevin De Bruyne drifted to the right flank before managing
to squeeze his cross between defence and goalkeeper, with Aguero ghosting in to
prod home a landmark goal from close-range.
Jesus Navas thumped the post with the last kick of the first
half and City were put on warning immediately after the restart when the
otherwise isolated Alvaro Negredo almost caught Claudio Bravo off his line from
fully 50 yards and the Chilean was forced to smother Adam Forshaw after the
visitors sliced through Guardiola's defence.
Stewart Downing's cross-shot was wasteful after De Roon had
sprung the visitors into a rare breakaway and Aguero and De Bruyne both blazed
over when they ought to have put the game to bed.
And they were made to pay in stunning fashion as De Roon met
George Friend's cross and thunder his first Premier League goal home.
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