LONDON // It could have been a lot worse, but for Manchester City a draw is bad enough.
The champions are eight points behind the Premier League leaders Chelsea and there has been nothing about their recent performances, or indeed those of Chelsea, to suggest there is much chance of them closing that gap.
City have won just seven of 18 games in all competitions this season and that statistic alone suggests just how far below par they have been.
For half an hour away at Queens Park Rangers, City were a shambles.
Charlie Austin had seen two goals disallowed in quick succession – once for offside and once because Joe Hart had inadvertently kicked the ball twice on taking a free kick – and had drawn a fine save from the City keeper before he ran on to Mauricio Isla’s clever ball and put QPR ahead after 21 minutes.
But the tone of the game changed after 32 minutes, as Sergio Aguero brilliantly took down a long clearance from centre-back Eliaquim Mangala and wobbled through two challenges before finishing neatly.
The brilliance of the goal was undermined only by the fact that the Argentine was a fraction offside and that he handled the ball as he worked it onto his left foot.
That perked City up, but yet again this season they ended up relying on individual brilliance to extricate themselves from an awkward situation. There is no sense of cohesion about them anymore, no sense of collective endeavour.
Nor is their much fight, something that was embarrassingly apparent in QPR’s second goal.
Fernando simply did not compete for a ball in the centre of midfield with Eduardo Vargas, who laid it wide for Austin. His cross was superb and the ball was diverted past Hart by the shoulder of Martin Demichelis.
That again sparked City into life, and Richard Dunne and Steven Caulker both cleared efforts off the line before Aguero levelled with seven minutes remaining.
However disappointing City have been of late, they would be far lower in the table without the alertness of Aguero, who has scored 12 times in the Premier League this season.
But City cannot keep relying on him to spirit results from nothing. This was yet another game in which they played in fits and starts, defended erratically and seemed generally off the pace.
They are still two points better off than they were at this stage last season, but last season they did not have Chelsea setting the pace. The champions’ grasp on their crown is slipping.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
