Bilic is reportedly on the brink on losing his job
Read Paul Wilson’s match report. Thanks for your company. Bye!
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Ilkay Gündogan, who opened the scoring and came close to finding a winner, talks. I think we deserved better,” he says. “It is disappointing for us to get just one point. These kind of games we need to win. This why we are not happy. We’ve had great years and played great football in the past, so obviously we have set the level quite high. The expectations only go up. All over Europe, all of the big teams are struggling with the tight [schedule of] fixtures. We are human beings, we are not machines or robots. We cannot complain, we need to look forward.”
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The undisputed man of the match, Sam Johnstone, speaks. “The boys dug in, we fought for 94 minutes,” the West Brom goalkeeper says. “The lads ran their socks off and I was there to make a few saves when it was needed. The free-kick, that was a good save because it was quick and there were a few bodies [in front of me]. Their quality is unbelievable so it’s just about trying to get into good positions early. The lads fought hard and I didn’t want to let them down. This is a massive result. We fought, we headed, we tackled.” Asked about Slaven Bilic, whose position has been under increased scrutiny, he says: “The manager is great. We all fight for him, for each other, for the club. The boys love him. We knew getting promoted, it would be tough. If we keep playing like that, hopefully luck goes our way.”
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Full-time: Man City 1-1 West Brom
Phew. Well, who predicted that then? Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan passed up chances to win it but Sam Johnstone was inspired in the West Brom goal and Semi Ajayi astounding in defence. A miffed Guardiola was quick to rush down the tunnel at the final whistle but credit to Slaven Bilic’s side for their doggedness. Bilic gives Johnstone a hug for his efforts. They worked their socks off. Up next? City, who move sixth, travel to in-form Southampton on Saturday and West Brom have the small matter of hosting Aston Villa at the Hawthorns a day later.
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90+4 min: Johnstone denies Sterling from point-blank range! Johnstone has made a string of preposterous saves. De Bruyne delivers a wonderful cross into the box, Sterling roams into the six-yard box unmarked but the forward cannot direct his header past Johnstone, who somehow keeps West Brom alive.
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90+3 min: ... Gundogan ripples the net – but it’s the side netting! Johnstone dropped to his knees in despair. He was beaten. West Brom are hanging on!
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90+2 min: Manchester City win another free-kick 20 yards from goal ... moments after Sam Johnstone makes a superb save to keep out Gundogan’s header with his legs. That is a massive save. But he may have another to make yet. Gundogan is again sizing it up. City have a free-kick 20 yards from goal ...
90 min: Guardiola is going berserk, berating the fourth official Anthony Taylor, who signals for FOUR added minutes. Guardiola is so incensed – presumably by the amount of time added on – that he tries to pull the fourth official’s board down.
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89 min: Austin has a chance to run for the hills and earn West Brom some breathing space but picks the wrong option and Furlong ends up hoofing the ball into Ederson’s arms. Guardiola is still rallying the troops but they need a spark and quick.
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88 min: Rodri looks for Aguero but O’Shea stands tall. West Brom have less than two minutes of normal time to hold on for the most precious of points.
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87 min: City surge forward at breakneck speed through Raheem Sterling, who drives at the heart of the West Brom defence. Sterling spies Aguero to his right but the striker, who takes the shot on first time, gets his angles all wrong. For a split-second, that looked destined to be the moment City ground West Brom down.
87 min: Lee Peltier replaces Matt Phillips, who put in helluva shift.
86 min: ... Johnstone saves superbly down to his left! De Bruyne rattles a curling strike towards the bottom corner – it is going in – but Johnstone shuffles across to push it to safety. That is a fine stop. Meanwhile, Bilic is readying another change.
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85 min: Manchester City win a free-kick, 22 odd yards from goal. Kevin De Bruyne could not pick a better spot to take aim. It’s just off centre. West Brom are hastily arranging a five-man wall. De Bruyne to take ...
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84 min: De Bruyne tries to scoop the ball into Aguero but Dara O’Shea, who has been brilliant in defence, is there again. Then Sawyers superbly cuts out another De Bruyne pass. City are knocking on the door.
83 min: Every West Brom player is parked behind the ball, deep inside their own half. Will City find a way through? Can West Brom hold on?
80 min: City play a short corner and Matt Phillips does superbly to prevent Raheem Sterling getting a cross into the box. Phillips and Ajayi have been monstrous. Bilic is barking away, applauding his players like billy-o. Can he eke out anymore?
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79 min: Sawyers fouls Rodri after Ajayi plays a lazy pass into the midfielder. West Brom look mentally drained. Krovinovic is on for Livermore.
76 min: Walker blasts at goal and O’Shea helps it over! You could throw a blanket over all 11 West Brom players, who are desperately trying to keep City at bay. This is excruciating from a West Brom perspective. Semi Ajayi has been a man mountain in defence. He again clears as City chuck another ball into the box.
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75 min: Sergio Agüero is on! Believe it or not, his last Premier League goal came in January. Phil Foden is withdrawn. Meanwhile, Benjamin Mendy is replaced by Kyle Walker. West Brom need to dig deep, that bit deeper if they can.
74 min: The Livermore-Sawyers axis is simply not holding on to possession well enough. They again surrender the ball between them. Livermore looks for Austin but it is a hospital pass, really. It is going to be a long 16 minutes. Ajayi, by contrast, has been superb, so concentrated in the centre of defence.
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72 min: West Brom gift City the ball after some really sloppy passing 30 yards in front of their own goal. Livermore and Sawyers were guilty of not taking care of possession. In the end Conor Gallagher digs them out of trouble, thumping the ball to safety. Bilic does not look as though he can take much more of this.
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71 min: Austin is instantly involved, almost nicking the ball away from Rodri on halfway as the Manchester City midfielder held on to possession for a little too long. City get away with it but West Brom seem to be growing in belief.
70 min: Karlan Grant’s shift is over. Charlie Austin is on.
69 min: ... Rodri smashes a shot over from 25 yards! The buildup, like much of their football, was beautiful but the execution left a lot to be desired.
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68 min: Right on cue De Bruyne hammers a strike at Johnstone at the near post. The West Brom goalkeeper does enough. City want to crank it up ...
67 min: De Bruyne is striding around midfield looking pretty miffed. Contrary to expectations, City really have not had things all their own way.
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66 min: Foden attempts an overhead-kick. Unsuccessful.
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65 min: City have struggled to create full stop, but have particularly struggled to carve out those City-like overloads in wide areas. Credit to Grady Diangana and Matt Phillips who have had to dig in and do the dirty work. Mendy almost got the better of Diangana a moment ago but the winger does just enough.
64 min: Johnstone smothers well after Gündogan’s shot almost pinballs into the path of Jesus. The striker has had to feed off scraps.
62 min: Cancelo makes a mess of a routine header and the City full-back allows Matt Phillips a sight of goal, albeit from 25 yards out. Ajayi had played a mammoth crossfield ball in search of the winger. Phillips sees the headlines and snatches at a shot from distance. It dribbles wide of Ederson’s goal.
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60 min: Johnstone does well to extinguish a City attack! Gündogan drives at goal, powering forward before attempting to release Jesus. But the West Brom goalkeeper is alert and snuffs it out. Can West Brom survive another half-hour?
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58 min: City are trying to ratchet things up, to increase the temperature. Sergio Agüero continues to warmup on the touchline.
56 min: Ederson comes racing out of goal to scoop the ball up with his feet, denying Grant a chance to charge at goal and the goalkeeper kick-starts the counterattack. City win another corner but Johnstone spreads himself to deny Sterling from close range after Jesus nodded a scruffy header into his path.
55 min: City go close! O’Shea recovers after allowing De Bruyne to pick his pass. City win a corner ... and Jesus plants a header on to the roof of the net!
53 min: Man City skate forward with the ball after another sloppy mistake by Livermore, who again squandered possession. De Bruyne takes aim but it drops wide. Livermore then takes a few deep breaths. He needs to find a touch of composure. City are sensing blood.
52 min: West Brom clear the corner but then Livermore proceeds to gift possession back to Man City. But, fortunately for him, they fail to make the most of it. Guardiola is bouncing up and down on the touchline. He wants more heart from his team.
50 min: Sterling dances along the edge of West Brom’s 18-yard box but the final pass eludes him. Sawyers does well to hoover up and extinguish any danger. Another wave of City pressure results in Foden flashing a ball across goal, and then Johnstone repels a deflected Cancelo cross. Man City get a corner.
49 min: ... Dias clears the initial corner but West Brom keep it alive. They work it back into the box and Mendy was fortunate the ricochet did not drop into the path of Karlan Grant, who was lurking on the edge of the six-yard box.
48 min: Livermore wins West Brom a corner ...
47 min: A hairy start to the second half for West Brom, at Sterling flicks on the afterburners. He makes a fool of Matt Phillips, who tries in vain to stay touch-tight to his man. City flash the ball into the box and Ajayi thumps clear. Meanwhile, down on the touchline, Sergio Agüero is limbering up. That’s a sight for sore eyes from a West Brom perspective. Jesus, so far tamed by Ajayi and co, has been relatively ineffective thus far.
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46 min: Manchester City get things started in the second half.
Essential half-time reading:
That own goal means Manchester City’s run of more than 10 hours with conceding is over. They have not reigned supreme in defence.
Half-time: Man City 1-1 West Brom
We’re all level at the Etihad. Ajayi pivoted and struck, via Ruben Dias, to give West Brom a whiff of the points. Gündogan gave City the lead with an incisive finish and a tonne of pressure but credit to Slaven Bilic’s side, who stuck at it. In fact, Karlan Grant should have given the visitors the lead but fluffed his lines. City have struggled to create clear-cut openings. Might we soon see Agüero?
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45 min: Ajayi celebrated wildly but that will likely go down as a Dias own goal. West Brom won’t care an inch. There will be one added minute.
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GOAL! Man City 1-1 West Brom (Ajayi, 43)
Semi Ajayi levels as City go to sleep! West Brom recycle an aimless free-kick and Ajayi pokes at goal after springing away from Ake. Replays show his shot cannons off Ruben Dias. Ederson was powerless, wrong-footed by a cruel deflection.
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42 min: Manchester City and West Brom were both promoted to the top flight together in 2001-02. Just let that sink in for a moment.
40 min: ... De Bruyne overcooks it.
39 min: Gallagher goes to ground to nab the ball from Jesus, and gets a booking for what was not the best challenge. He inadvertently took out team-mate Dara O’Shea too. De Bruyne sizes up the free-kick, 25 yards from goal ...
38 min: De Bruyne supplies Foden with a sumptuous through ball. Foden nonchalantly swivels and looks to turn away from Ajayi, but the West Brom defender makes life difficult and City have to settle for a corner. City work the subsequent ball towards the back post, where Cancelo arrives unmarked. He volleys wide.
35 min: Cancelo is beckoned to shoot and he wellies at goal from 30 yards. His shot is not lacking in power but Johnstone sees it all the way. This is, sadly, a game of attack v defence.
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32 min: Conor Gallagher takes aim from the edge of the box and the Chelsea loanee has Ederson sprawling down to his left. That was a decent hit. West Brom must not allow their heads to drop otherwise this game could spiral.
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GOAL! Man City 1-0 West Brom (Gündogan, 30)
Sterling gets to the byline, just about keeps his balance and lays the ball on a plate for Gündogan, who finishes emphatically. That is a killer for West Brom, who have been dogged in defence but that one slip has cost them. Sterling got in down the right flank, made Gibbs look stupid and cut it back for Gündogan to do the rest.
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28 min: Gundogan knocks the ball along to Rodri, the ball trickling through the legs of referee Peter Bankes en route. They are building patiently, probing for a clear opening ...
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27 min: Sterling comes alive in the box after collecting a pass from Benjamin Mendy. He beats Furlong but not Matt Phillips, who shepherds the ball to safety, earning West Brom a goal-kick. They have stood firm when required.
25 min: ... Rodri leaps above Livermore – but nods over! West Brom made sure there was plenty of traffic around the City midfielder. Bilic will be happy with this and, remember, they have spurned the best opening so far, when Grant failed to trouble Ederson.
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23 min: West Brom essentially have a back six out of possession. In fairness, it is working for them so far. They have been workmanlike if not inspirational. City win yet another corner ...
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20 min: On halfway Dias nudges it along to Ake, who promptly gives it back. Then Gundogan takes over. He works it back to Dias. It is all very neat and tidy. But City’s patient probing is yet to carve a bona fide opening. They’re hogging the ball, at least.
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18 min: Ilkay Gündogan sprays a Hollywood pass towards the flank in search of Sterling – but it is a little stay, much to Guardiola’s frustration. More often than not, West Brom have 11 men behind the ball. City are trying to wear them down.
17 min: West Brom are struggling to stem City’s flow.
16 min: ... cleared by Dara O’Shea, who did well to see the ball out a moment ago. Johnstone plunged West Brom into trouble with a poor kick, allowing Sterling to race forward. West Brom get away with it but back City come, Foden propelling them forward down the left flank and he wins another corner, which is cleared.
15 min: Manchester City win another corner ...
14 min: Sumptuous interplay as De Bruyne, Gundogan and Jesus pop it around ... but then the offside flag goes up. Party over.
13 min: ... it’s floated high into the box and that is easy for Sam Johnstone to claim, straight down his throat. That’s the first time the West Brom goalkeeper has been really called upon.
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12 min: De Bruyne buys a free-kick off Ajayi, 30 yards from goal ...
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9 min: Grant will be kicking himself. He did the hard part, stepping inside Ake after the ball deflected off Cancelo. But the finish was poor and, in the end, it was a fairly comfortable save for Ederson. How Slaven Bilic could do with his £15m signing making a dent.
8 min: Ederson saves well from Karlan Grant – but the West Brom forward should have buried it! He was allowed to roam into the box, cutting inside Nathan Ake before pulling the trigger with his right foot. But it was tame – powder-puff, if you will – and the lack of conviction allows the City goalkeeper to push it clear.
7 min: ... it comes to nothing. And what a chance up the other end!
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5 min: Ilkay Gündogan being preferred to Fernandinho suggests City are going to go more front-foot than that lukewarm derby a few days ago. City win a corner ...
3 min: O’Shea plays a ropey pass towards Kieran Gibbs and, although painfully undercooked, Raheem Sterling cannot nick it away and gallop clear. That’s another little let-off for West Brom. City are feeling themselves into the occasion.
2 min: Cancelo bombs down the right flank, breezing beyond Grady Diangana, who is not the best defender in the world. He then plays a one-two with Kevin De Bruyne but the Belgium midfielder overcooks the return pass ever so slightly.
2 min: Manchester City are stroking the ball about nicely, as you’d expect. West Brom look compact and organised. They need to stay that way.
Peeeeeeeeeep!
Guardiola looks very cold.
The teams lineup at the Etihad. Kick-off is almost upon us ...
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A big (and very late) goal at Molineux ...
Team news news: to recap, Manchester City make four changes from the derby stalemate on Sunday. Benjamin Mendy, Nathan Aké, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gündogan replace Kyle Walker, John Stones, Fernandinho and Mahrez. West Brom also tweak personnel, with Slaven Bilic opting for three changes. The captain, Jake Livermore, returns in place of Filip Krovinovic, while Kieran Gibbs and Grady Diangana replace Branislav Ivanovic and Callum Robinson, both of whom have to make do with a spot on the bench.
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Wolves v Chelsea is drawing to a close at Molineux. Meanwhile, the teams are limbering up at the Etihad. Guardiola is all smiles pre-match. He is hoping his side re-find their killer instinct. They are 17 goals down compared to this stage last season and Riyad Mahrez is their top scorer with four goals. Jesus again gets the nod up front but at least Agüero is an option off the bench.
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The teams!
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Cancelo, Aké, Ruben Dias, Mendy; Rodri, Gündogan, De Bruyne, Sterling, Foden; Jesus
Subs: Steffen, Walker, Agüero, Laporte, Bernardo, Torres, Mahrez
West Brom (3-5-2): Johnstone; Ajayi, Gibbs, O’Shea; Furlong, Gallagher, Sawyers, Livermore, Phillips; Diangana, Grant
Subs: Button, Peltier, Ivanovic, Krovinovic, Grosicki, Robinson, Austin
Referee: Peter Bankes
VAR: Martin Atkinson
Preamble
Believe it or not, this is ninth v 19th. The Manchester derby was far from riveting but Pep Guardiola’s side remain in a good place. Victory would take them within three points of the summit. The good news for West Brom? Sergio Agüero might only be fit enough for the bench. The bad news? City can call on Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, Ferran Torres, Phil Foden, and have not conceded in more than nine hours of Pep-ball. Slaven Bilic’s position is under increasing scrutiny following five defeats in six matches, but the Croatian was never going to be judged on trips to the league’s elite. West Brom have shown glimpses of quality and gave Tottenham a fright last month but, in truth, they have been porous defensively, shipping a league-high 25 goals. The only thing preventing West Brom from propping up the table is Sheffield United’s dire start and defeat would see them equal their club record for fewest points after 13 games. “We have to frustrate them, we have to make it hard for them,” Bilic said.
Kick-off: 8pm (GMT)
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