Manchester City were held 1-1 by relegation strugglers Newcastle United at St James Park in a game that was must win for the Magpies.
City opened the scoring via a Sergio Aguero header which was contentiously given after shouts for offside, before Vurnon Anita cancelled out City’s opener with a curled shot in the 31st minute.
Both teams huffed and puffed but couldn’t quite snatch a winner and the game petered out for a share of the spoils.
City play host to Stoke City at the Etihad next, where they will hope to get back to winning ways before they host Spanish giants Real Madrid in their landmark Champions League semi-final on Tuesday evening.
Here’s how we rated the City players in the draw with Newcastle.
Joe Hart: Good outing for the English international, maybe would’ve liked to have done better for the Anita goal but nobody can deny him of the world class save he pulled off from Georginio Wijnaldum’s effort at the end of the game: 6.5
Pablo Zabaleta: Was put under the cosh by Ayoze Perez in parts but dealt with him adequately and battled through without many qualms. Will be happy to have got another 90 minutes under his belt: 6.5
Vincent Kompany: Great to see the skipper back in the fold. Looked tired towards the end but that’s normal after such a long time sidelined with injury. City will just be thankful he’s back in time for Madrid next week: 6
Eliaquim Mangala: Looked troubled against Papiss Cisse in the opening half hour but settled from there on after. Looking better every game: 6
Aleksandar Kolarov: Great delivery for the first goal and worked up and down his line well but his game lacked finesse and he got beaten far too easily for Anita’s goal: 5.5
Fernando: Looked shaky at times and doesn’t always fill with confidence but he made some timely interceptions and screened the back four vitally: 6
Yaya Touré: Wasn’t quite as good as his showing vs Chelsea and was frequently overrun. Shame he couldn’t have been decisive with a goal or even a killer ball: 6
Jesus Navas: Predictably ineffective but did work hard going forward and back, nearly squeezed one in during the second-half but Darlow saved well. Just his end product stopping him being a quite decent player: 6
Kevin De Bruyne: Some beautiful touches and interplay but couldn’t manage to stamp his authority on the affair – might be a touch of fatigue after such great performances in recent weeks: 7
Fabian Delph: Didn’t look comfortable with his role out wide, which he has been played in before. Didn’t get in the game and was consequently hooked for Raheem Sterling, who made his return from injury: 5
Sergio Aguero: Joined the 100 Club as he notched his century of goals in the Premier League with a stylish header to break the deadlock. That takes the Argentine up to 22 goals this season, not bad. Didn’t manage to create anything of real substance after that: 6.5
