Phil Foden came off the bench to spare spluttering Manchester City's blushes as the England midfielder rescued a 1-1 draw against West Ham on Saturday, reports AFP.
Pep Guardiola's side fell behind to Michail Antonio's superb overhead kick in the first half at the London Stadium. Foden came on at half-time and produced an instant equaliser, but City couldn't deliver the knockout blow and have now won just one of their last four Premier League games. Injury-hit City, without Fernandinho, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Gabriel Jesus, rarely reached peak form in the latest of a growing list of inconsistent displays.
They are already five points behind leaders Everton, who play Southampton on Sunday, and look more vulnerable than at any time since Guardiola's first season in charge.
Guardiola named an unchanged line-up in consecutive games for the first time since October 2017, but City still lacked rhythm and they fell behind to Antonio's moment of magic in the 18th minute. Vladimir Coufal swung a cross into the City area and Antonio showed his strength and agility as he held off Ruben Dias before smashing a superb overhead kick past Ederson for his third goal of the season.
City appealed for a handball by Tomas Soucek in the build-up, but VAR allowed the goal to stand. Foden made an immediate impact as the 20-year-old grabbed his third goal of the season in the 51st minute.
Cancelo made an incisive burst down the left and aimed his cross into the West Ham area, where Foden controlled and turned in one motion before driving his low shot past Lukasz Fabianski. With 22 minutes left, Guardiola introduced Kevin De Bruyne, who missed the wins over Arsenal and Porto with a muscle problem.
De Bruyne's pinpoint pass gave Sterling a golden opportunity to win it for City in the 86th minute, but the forward's poor touch and hesitant shot allowed Fabianski to save.
Guardiola shook his head and there was more frustration in stoppage-time when Mahrez's shot was pushed onto the post by Fabianski.