Marten de Roon’s injury-time equaliser snatched a draw for Middlesbrough as Manchester City were made to pay for a sloppy second-half performance at Etihad Stadium.
Sergio Aguero put City ahead, stabbing in Kevin de Bruyne’s cross for his 150th City goal with their 18th shot of the afternoon.
Boro were hugely improved after the break and Alvaro Negredo brought a fine save from Claudio Bravo with an audacious lob from the halfway line.
Pep Guardiola’s side looked to have withstood the isolated spells of Boro pressure but De Roon’s header from George Friend’s 91st-minute cross denied them.
It was the midfielder’s first goal in a Middlesbrough shirt, and came just a minute after De Bruyne missed an empty net following a mistake by Boro keeper Victor Valdes.
Five minutes before that, Aguero missed a clear chance to seal the win, firing badly wide when found by Jesus Navas in the box.
Pep’s City blues
Guardiola described City’s 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday as a landmark win for his side – and warned against letting standards drop in the league.
But for all of City’s first-half dominance, that is exactly what happened. The home side managed 19 attempts on the Boro goal in the opening 45 minutes, but only six in the second half as they let the away side back in.
There was sloppy play in midfield, silly fouls that allowed the balance of play to turn at crucial moments, and then – after Aguero and De Bruyne’s bad misses – slack defending in injury time.
City have now drawn each of their past three league games 1-1, and are without a home league win since September.
They still lead the table by one point from Arsenal and Liverpool, and by two points from Chelsea, but whether they remain there depends on how those teams fare this weekend.
Chelsea play Everton in the 17:30 GMT kick-off, while Arsenal play Tottenham on Sunday and Liverpool welcome Watford.
Boro’s repeat performance
Two weeks ago, Aitor Karanka’s side put in brilliant defensive display at Arsenal to earn a point from a match they might even have won with some better finishing.
Here, luck had a greater role in keeping City at bay until just before the break – and some solid close-range stops by Valdes.
Aguero, Ilkay Gundogan and De Bruyne were all denied as the home side failed to take advantage of Boro’s inability to keep the ball and their risky play at the back.
But in the second half they were a team transformed.
Negredo’s attempt to score from almost inside his own half spoke of a greater sense of confidence within the side, and Boro continued to snatch chances from City’s 70% share of possession.
Bravo smothered the ball at Adam Forshaw’s feet to stop one counter, and Stewart Downing should have done better with his finish on another.
Last year’s Championship runners-up are now unbeaten in three matches, and move up to 14th in the table.
Even though they had to wait until injury time for the goal to come, and even though they rode their luck, Boro deserved their point.
