Manchester City 1 West Brom 1 - Report

And while they may not have won at the Etihad Stadium they proved that is true after securing a 1-1 draw against Pep Guardiola’s superstars.

In what was a pulsating clash in Manchester, the Baggies had to withstand heavy pressure with the hosts enjoying 77 per cent possession.

But they were resilient, organised and defended superbly throughout to come away with a point.

They had Sam Johnstone to thank late on with the goalkeeper making three outstanding saves - two of which arrived in stoppage time.

But the Baggies deserved their point for the discipline and determination they showed over the 90 minutes.

City opened the scoring with their only real clear-cut chance of the first half when Ilkay Gundogan fired in from eight-yards.

Bilic’s men levelled before the break with Semi Ajayi’s low drive deflected off Ruben Dias to sail past Ederson.

And the Baggies then showed bundles of grit and character after the break to hold on and move within three points of 16th placed Brighton.

Report

For the vast majority of the season, Bilic had opted to utilise a back three with his team having shifted between 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 systems.

But the boss switched to a flat back four for the trip to the Etihad with Dara O’Shea partnering Ajayi at the heart of defence and Kieran Gibbs and Darnell Furlong at full-back.

In what, overall, was a 4-5-1 formation, skipper Jake Livermore made his first start since early November and joined Conor Gallagher and Romaine Sawyers in central midfield.

Matt Phillips started on the right flank with Grady Diangana on the left and Karlan Grant the lone striker.

Man City lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Kevin De Bruyne in the number 10 role. Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden were the widemen with Gabriel Jesus up top.

Albion entered the match with some bookmakers pricing them at odds as high as 33/1 to win the game.

But they should have been a goal up inside 10 minutes when Gallagher’s pass clipped the heels of Joao Cancelo and inadvertently sent Grant through on goal.

From around eight-yards the striker hit a low drive towards goal which Ederson got down brilliantly to parry away.

But, in truth, the keeper should never have been given the opportunity to make the save with Grant putting his head in his hands knowing he should have scored.

That chance aside, the opening stages proved fairly uneventful with City enjoying a lot of possession but without creating any clear-cut chances.

They started to increase the pressure as the half reached it’s midway point with Rodrigo heading over from a corner.

And they then opened the scoring on the half-hour with that was their first clear-cut chance.

It was Sterling who created it with the England international hitting the byline before picking out Gundogan with a low cross.

And from eight-yards, he couldn’t really miss with the German sweeping the ball past Sam Johnstone and into the net.

The goal was somewhat harsh on the Baggies who had defended excellently with the midfield five expertly protecting the back four.

And despite the set-back the Baggies continued to keep that discipline for the rest of the half - with that giving them the platform to then get themselves level just before the break.

After Diangana was fouled, Phillips whipped in a free-kick that Man City could only half-clear.

And that led to the ball being worked to Ajayi who spun away from Nathan Ake before hitting a low drive which deflected off Ruden Dias and in.

The early stages of the second-half followed a similar pattern to the first with City seeing a lot of the ball but without creating much.

In the 55th minute, Jesus headed narrowly over from a corner as they continued to knock on the door.

Then from another corner just moments later, the hosts came even closer when Jesus flicked the ball on to Sterling at the back post.

He then hit a powerful effort towards goal but Johnstone raced off his line and made himself big to make an excellent block.

Albion showed they still carried an attacking threat when Ajayi’s excellent cross-field ball found Phillips who fired wide from 20-yards.

As the clock ticked past the 70 minute mark, Albion were having to camp deep in their own half.

But while City were dominating the ball, the vast majority of their play was in front of the Baggies who were happy to remain organised and defend in numbers.

With their team desperate for a winning goal, Guardiola made a double change in the 75th minute with Sergio Aguero and Kyle Walker replacing Benjamin Mendy and Foden.

What followed was a relentless spell of City pressure together with a masterclass in goalkeeping from Johnstone who made three outstanding saves.

The first arrived when De Bruyne whipped a free-kick around the ball only for the England hopeful to get down to beat the ball away.

But while that save was good, the next two - which both arrived in stoppage time - were outstanding.

Gundogan thought he had his second goal and his team's winner when he met an outstanding cross into the box by De Bruyne.

But Johnstone stuck out a leg to brilliantly keep the ball out from point-blank range.

Then with just seconds left, De Bruyne sent in another ball just as tantalising.

This time Sterling latched on to it six-yards out.

Somehow, though, Johnstone managed to stick out an arm and keep out his header - once again from point-blank range.

Teams

Man City: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Mendy (Walker 75), Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Sterling, Foden (Aguero 76), Jesus.

Subs not used: Steffen, Laporte, Laporte, Bernardo, Torres, Mahrez

Albion: Johnstone, Furlong, Ajayi, O’Shea, Gibbs, Phillips (Peltier 87), Livermore (Krovinovic 80), Gallagher, Sawyers, Diangana, Grant (Austin 60).

Subs not used: Button, Ivanovic, Grosicki, Robinson.