Manchester City’s 2-2 draw at home against Burnley is a disappointment however you look at it. Not only did City throw away a two goal lead at home, but they did against a relegation threatened side not known for their goal-scoring prowess.

In the latter stages of the second half, Manchester City looked frightened whenever the ball approached their penalty area. Miscued clearances, sloppy passes and ill-timed challenges characterized a disappointing end to a game Manchester City should have won.

It started out so well too, brilliant goals from first David Silva and then Fernandinho seemed to forecast a comfortable home victory. City seemed to crumble mentally rather than physically after that, as soon as Burnley came out for the second half they were first to every ball. Rather inevitably, their persistence paid off.

There are two ways of looking at the result in the context of the title race. On the one hand, City are no further worse than they were before the games. On the other hand, Manchester City failed to capitalize on a rare 2 points lost for Chelsea. It’s probable that the City players knew the result going into the game, and this led to the terrified defending in the second half against Burnley.

You can make a solid argument that the first Burnley goal was offside, but the truth is overall they deserved the draw. Manchester City shouldn’t be giving so many opportunities away at home no matter who the opposition is, and this game was horribly reminiscent of certain City performances in Europe.

this game was horribly reminiscent of certain City performances in Europe.

The positives to take away are that yet again City put in a decent attacking shift without a recognized Striker, with David Silva yet again proving the catalyst. A screamer from Fernandinho was also a nice surprise, showing the Brazilian can hopefully fill in for Yaya Toure in more ways than one while the midfielders away at AFCON.

The negatives, well, perhaps better not to dwell on them too much and hope it was a one-off. It was a lack of conviction and confidence that led to the loss of 3 points. Hopefully City have got it out of their system ahead of the trickier games against Arsenal and Chelsea toward the latter part of January.