MANCHESTER CITY MISSES BIG CHANCE........ MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM..................Manchester City missed a golden chance to close the gap on league leaders Chelsea as they surrendered a two-goal half-time lead against Burnley. City were cruising when Fernandinho followed up David Silvas opener with a fine curling shot. George Boyd scored straight after the break, turning home Danny Ings shot despite appearing to be offside. Then Ashley Barnes reacted quickest in a crowded penalty area to smash home a loose ball to earn the visitors a draw. It was a result that didnt seem likely at the break, when City looked sure to cut Chelseas lead at the top of the Premier League to a single point. Samir Nasris precise pass had been perfect for Jesus Navas to run on to. Silva had found enough space to collect his fellow countrymans cross. He spun round and beat Burnley keeper Tom Heat on by his left-hand post from eight yards for his fourth goal in three games. Nasri then showed admirable patience in waiting for an opening before eventually rolling a pass back to Fernandinho, whose superb curling shot provided him with his first goal of the season when it crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. The first-half was not without its mishaps for City. Fernando was booked for fouling Scott Arfield that will rule him out of the New Years Day encounter with Sunderland and Pablo Zabaleta needed a bandage applying to a wound sustained in a clash of heads with Eliaquim Mangala. It took an element of good fortune for Burnley to get back into the game at the start of the second period, with none of the officials spotting Boyd was in an offside position when he got the slightest of touches to Ings shot before it squeezed under Joe Hart. Both sides had chances after that. Heat on denied Nasri with a full-length save and at the other end, Ings was narrowly wide with a shot from 25 yards before Arfield was denied by a well-timed tackle from Martin Demichelis. Burnley kept going and their attacking intent was rewarded when a long free-kick bounced off Michael Keane and Barnes wasted no time in driving a first-time shot into the roof of Harts net before the City keeper had a chance to react. Rather than risk losing their point, the visitor s opted for a safety-first strategy at the end, with manager Sean Dyche telling his players to take the ball towards the corner flag during five minutes of injury time. Other results, West ham 1 Arsenal 2, Southampton 1 Chelsea 1 , Tottenham 0 Manchester united 0
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 18:44:38 +0000
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