Manchester City vs. Sunderland: 6 Things We Learned About Blues' Title Chances

Nice comeback, City. Now you might need a better one, though.

Manchester City erased a two-goal deficit to draw 3-3 at home to Sunderland on Saturday in the English Premier League. The tie ended City's 20-game winning streak at home and left the Blues two points behind rivals Manchester United atop the Premier League table.

The Blues, who had started the season with 15 straight home wins, now must hope United drop points. United have a game in hand and travel to Blackburn Rovers on Monday.

That means City could be five points off the pace Monday night. And while that doesn't necessarily mean the Blues' title chances are over, it does mean their task just became much more difficult.

With that in mind, here are six things we learned about Manchester City's title chances during the 3-3 draw with Sunderland.

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It's Not Over, But…

City's late comeback—Balotelli and Aleksandar Kolarov scored in the 85th and 86th minutes, respectively—showed that Roberto Mancini's team has mental strength.

After all, the Blues easily could have accepted defeat at 3-1 down after 55 minutes. Instead they fought back for a point and could have won the match in the closing minutes.

Nice as the comeback was, though, it might already be too late, and it might have done too little.

Manchester United, winners of six straight, travel to Blackburn's Ewood Park on Monday. If they win, the Red Devils will hold a five-point advantage with seven matches left.

It's a dangerous sign when your deficit comes close to matching the number of games left, but what's more worrisome for City is United's currently rampant form.

Before Saturday, Mancini had already said City must close the season in winning form. After Saturday, he's probably kicking himself for being so right.

The last time United lost was Jan. 4, and the last time they dropped points was Feb. 5—when they erased a big deficit of their own to tie Chelsea 3-3.

But while United's big comeback three months ago served as a harbinger for an epic winning run, City's comeback feels more like one last, desperate jab against a heavyweight who's gaining steam.

And the right cross is coming.

What to Do with Balotelli?

If City lose the title race, this moment will enter Premier League folklore.

With the score 3-1 in the second half, City won a free kick in shooting range of the Sunderland goal. Italian striker Mario Balotelli arrived quickly to take the kick.

But Balotelli isn't City's designated free-kick specialist. Aleksandar Kolarov is, and he arrived soon after.

A controversy ensued, with Balotelli trying to take the ball away from Kolarov. Vincent Kompany and Nigel De Jong eventually pushed Balotelli away, but not before City had inflicted an embarrassing moment of dysfunction on themselves.

The moment itself won't count for any points in the table, but as The Guardian's Daniel Taylor wrote, this sort of thing would never happen to an Alex Ferguson team. Never.

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For the first time there were audible boos for Balotelli, a player normally given almost unconditional support from City's crowd. With Agüero missing, City really needed someone who is capable of serious, grown-up football.

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Mancini, too, criticized Balotelli after the match—even though the Italian scored twice.

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“He didn’t play well,” Mancini said. “In a game like this the striker should be the difference. Not in the last two or three minutes but before. In the first half we should have scored two or three. Mario and [Edin] Dzeko should have scored two or three goals in a game like this.”

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It's hard to argue with Mancini, and even harder to understand how Balotelli and Dzeko were outplayed by Sunderland's Nicklas Bendtner for much of the match.

So what will Mancini do with Balotelli? City need his production, but they can't afford any more of his antics.

A title run-in is probably the worst possible time to have such a dilemma.

Striker Crisis

It's not just Balotelli. City are experiencing something of a striker crisis.

Balotelli and Dzeko have started only four matches together this season. City have won none of them, and Saturday's performance suggested the Blues' starting 11 won't likely feature the pairing again.

Then there's Sergio Agüero, who recently suffered a mysterious injury. No one is quite sure what's going on with the Argentine, apart from City's own staff.

That leaves Carlos Tevez. You already know what's wrong with him.

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Asked if he considered taking Balotelli off, Mancini said: “We had only Carlos [Tévez] on the bench. I thought about this after five minutes. In the end he scored two goals but...”

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… but Mancini didn't even have to finish that thought. Tevez left his team for several months this season in one of the most ridiculous failed transfer sagas in football history.

He can't be fully trusted, no matter how valuable he might be. And for City, that's a cruel development.

More cruel still—or poetically appropriate, depending on your allegiances—is the fact that for all of City's resources, they can't seem to field a stable striking partnership during the stretch run.

The Defense Must Improve

Sunderland tore City apart for three goals in 55 minutes. That should have been enough for a victory, and on most days the Black Cats would have recorded a famous away win.

For City, though, it's an alarming development.

Sunderland's attackers—led by the excellent Seb Larsson, Stephane Sessegnon and, wait for it, Nicklas Frickin' Bendtner—made City's defense look silly on numerous occasions.

Being beaten by Larsson and Sessegnon is understandable. Being beaten by Bendtner isn't.

Even Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill seemed somewhat surprised by his success:

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I thought Bendtner played as a real centre-forward – holding it up, bringing people in, and maybe on a performance like that his much self-vaunted opinion is maybe justified today.

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Only maybe, though. Equally likely is the possibility that City's defense played poorly.

They must improve, significantly, over the final seven matches.

The Arsenal Game Is Now a Must-Win

Every match is now a must-win, but that's especially true for the trip to Arsenal next weekend.

The Gunners dropped points on Saturday as well, losing shockingly to relegation strugglers QPR. Even so, Arsene Wenger's side has been in excellent form lately.

Arsenal also have Robin van Persie, who would love to have the chance to play City's defense on Saturday's form. If City play that way again, the Dutch striker could score six.

That's speculation, but this is fact: Sunday's match at the Emirates is a must-win. For both teams.

The Derby Might Not Matter

The Manchester Derby scheduled for April 30 has long been billed as a title decider.

By that time, though, the match might not matter.

Even now, Manchester United can afford to lose the Derby and still take the title by winning the rest of their games.