Alex Lacazette came off the bench to score his sixth goal of the season but we came up short in Manchester.
We started the game well enough, knocking the ball about with confidence against Pep Guardiola’s runaway league leaders.
Alex Iwobi might have done better with a half-chance from the edge of the box, but it was Kevin De Bruyne who opened the scoring with a powerful, precise finish into the bottom corner.
It was hard to take - we gave the ball away twice in the build-up to the goal and allowed a second chance to De Bruyne just moments after Petr Cech had denied the same player.
Petr Cech denying Sergio Aguero
In truth, we looked most vulnerable when we surrendered possession and Raheem Sterling should have taken advantage by setting up Leroy Sane for a second on the counter-attack. His wayward pass was a let-off for us.
But we were competitive, and Aaron Ramsey forced a fine save from Ederson in first-half stoppage time after Alexis got the better of John Stones.
That gave us hope for the second half, but that hope was almost extinguished when Sterling beat the offside trap and got the wrong side of Nacho Monreal to win a penalty. Sergio Aguero’s spot-kick bounced in off the post.
We’d caused City a fair few problems at the other end and Lacazette finished off a flowing move, firing confidently under Ederson after good work from Iwobi and Ramsey.
Alexandre scored his sixth goal of the season in the second half
We looked capable of more but City responded, Cech producing a brilliant save to deny Gabriel Jesus from close range.
He could do nothing with the substitute’s next chance. David Silva strayed offside but was not flagged, and he squared for Jesus to tap in City’s third.
AS IT HAPPENED
See how the game unfolded with our play-by-play commentary
WHAT IT MEANS
This result leaves us in sixth place in the Premier League - 12 points behind City. Tottenham are four points ahead of us while Liverpool have moved above us on goals scored.
WHAT’S NEXT
Another international break is upon us. When we come back, it’s the north London derby against Tottenham at Emirates Stadium.
Two away trips follow that one - Cologne in the Europa League, and Burnley in the Premier League.
DID YOU KNOW
Alex Iwobi taking aim at goal in the first half
Alex Lacazette scored his sixth goal of the season on Sunday. Here’s some other standout stats:
- Man City have won two of their last 10 matches against us in all competitions (D4 L4)
- We were the last team to beat City in a competitive game, in the Emirates FA Cup semi-final in April
- Our 2-0 win at the Etihad in January 2015 remains our only away Premier League victory against the ‘big six’ since the start of the 2014/15 season (D7 L9)
- City have won all 10 of the Premier League games in which they’ve led this season; we’ve won the most games (3) and points (9) from losing positions
- We’ve won 17 of the 48 away points available to us in 2017, winning five, drawing two and losing nine of our 16 games on the road
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