Manchester City moved back to the top of the Premier League table, but if that was cause for celebration around the Etihad it certainly didn't feel like it.
A fifth game without a win brought only frustration and more concerns about the club's alarming slump after 10 straight wins under Pep Guardiola.
On the eve of this match, Guardiola launched an impassioned defence of his methods, even going so far as to suggest that he would rather quit and go home to Spain than change his ways.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 20 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 20 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 20 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 19 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| 6 | Everton | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| 8 | Southampton | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| 9 | Watford | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | -4 | 11 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 | Burnley | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -5 | 10 |
| 15 | West Ham United | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -7 | 10 |
| 16 | Stoke City | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -7 | 9 |
| 17 | Middlesbrough | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | -4 | 7 |
| 18 | Hull City | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -14 | 7 |
| 19 | Swansea City | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -7 | 5 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | -10 | 2 |
But his players did little to support his argument with a flat performance five days after losing to Barcelona, certainly not until young Kelechi Iheanacho replaced Kevin De Bruyne at half-time and rescued a point.