Three Key Takeaways: Manchester City Held By Middlesbrough 1-1

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 05: Fernandinho of Manchester City and David Silva of Manchester City dejected during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Middlesbrough at Etihad Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) /

After a commanding victory over Barcelona in the Champions League, Manchester City could not earn all three points on Saturday vs. Middlesbrough at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola‘s squad drew 1-1 vs the newly-promoted side after a dominating first half saw them in front. Sergio Aguero gave the hosts a 1-0 lead just before halftime, however Manchester City could not squeeze out a win.

A 91st minute equalizer by Boro midfielder Marten de Roon earned the visitors a point after Manchester City failed to make the most of their first-half chances. City’s attackers forced six saves out of Boro keeper Victor Valdes in the first half, but zero in the second.

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It seemed that City were content with the 1-0 win and a lack of focus damaged the Citizens chances of staying at the top of the Premier League summit.

It was the third consecutive home league match the City have failed to win, which has allowed teams like Liverpool and Chelsea to leapfrog over City in the standings. According to BBC Sport, Pep Guardiola feels his side are not good enough inside the opponents’ box. “The balance is what we want to see but in the boxes we are not good enough.” But do you think it is a problem that we concede two chances a game and create 10? I have no regrets about that.”

After the 90+ minutes of action at the Etihad, here are my three key takeaways from MCFC’s 1-1 draw.

1.) City have to be more clinical in front of goal.
Manchester City need to be more dominant on the offensive. They had 25 shots against Middlesbrough but only seven went on target. I understand that every day, forwards and midfielders may not have the best game shooting-wise but still. Two points dropped on Saturday saw Chelsea and Liverpool knock City out of the top spot. With the amount of competition in the EPL this season, Manchester City need to play their best all the time and they cannot afford to drop points. Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Nolito, etc all need to make the most of their chances in-front of goal in order for this team to be successful.

2.) A Mental Breakdown costs City the points at home.
Another issue is the lack of concentration and focus by MCFC in the final minutes. After a huge momentum building win over Barcelona a few days prior, you would think that it would lead to another strong performance at home against a team lower on the talent pole. If a team is down 1-0 you know they will press hard for an equalizer and on the goal, Gael Clichy allowed de Roon to be wide-open inside of the box. A veteran mistake that hopefully gets cleaned up during the international break.

3.) There has to be more desire from all players.
Some matches MCFC can put four, five, six goals past an opponent. Others they can only muster one or two. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and others have been able to build a strong lead to avoid any comeback. I feel this has been an issue with Manchester City before and it has bit them in the behind again. After a dominant first half, Pep’s men relaxed in the second half and accepted the one-goal cushion. Against better competition, City could get run out of the building by an opponent and we saw that against Tottenham, Liverpool, and Leicester last season. If we want to be in a title race come March then we have to be more aggressive and finish teams off.

Next: Manchester City trio called into England WCQ Camp

Manchester City will be off until November 19th due to the international break and World Cup Qualifiers. They will be back in action on the 19th on the road at Crystal Palace in EPL play. Hopefully they can bounce back in a big way to stay in the early-season title talk.