Riyad Mahrez missed a late penalty as Manchester City’s title run at West Ham were halted after their 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola entered the match needing the largest number of points to open the gap between it and second-placed Liverpool and close to defending his title, but he was forced to settle for a point by the disciplined West Ham team, who could have easily won the match.
Hammers surprisingly led 2-0 in the first half, but Pep Guardiola’s team fought back to force a tie and could have won the match had Mahrez scored a penalty in the 87th minute.
Craig Dawson came close to giving the hosts the lead in the fourth minute when he encountered a superb pass from Pablo Fornals but headed home from close range over the bar.
Then Gabriel Jesus stormed the penalty area but fell after a confrontation in the penalty area, but the referee indicated that there was no penalty kick.
The first goal of the match arrived midway through the first half, and none other than the contender for the Player of the Season award, Jarrod Bowen.
The Englishman ran into a clever pass from Fornals and found himself in a one-on-one confrontation with the goalkeeper, but managed to finish the ball confidently into the net.
Gabriel Jesus and Aymeric Laporte came close to equalizing for City, but their efforts were unable to find the net.
Instead, it was the hosts who added a second, just before the break, when Bowen and Michel Antonio played a fine link to give the former a clear view of the goal on the edge of the penalty area, and he did not disappoint, with his victory. The guard is in the lower right corner.
City responded with blazing guns in the second half, and deserved a four-minute equalizer when Jack Grealish got some space for a shot from the edge of the penalty area, past the goalkeeper to slot into the net.
They did their best to find an equaliser, and only a desperate defense came close to deny Bernado Silva.
Their perseverance finally paid off in the 69th minute when Vladimir Koval fired past his own net with a fine free kick.
The visitors put the hosts under pressure for the last 10 minutes and got a chance to win the match with six minutes left after Gabriel Jesus fell into the penalty area.
Mahrez was unable to find the net although Lukasz Fabianski made a fine save to deny the Algerian.
The draw means that Liverpool could be one point behind City if they win their next match against Southampton.
