Manchester City vs. Stoke: Score and Reaction from 2017 Premier League Match

Manchester City were held to a 0-0 stalemate at home to Stoke City on Wednesday as manager Pep Guardiola's side remained 11 points below Premier League leaders Chelsea.

The Citizens suffered a terrific blow in the race for this season's title and managed to find just one shot on target, per WhoScored.com, as the ninth-placed Potters stole a valuable point at the Etihad Stadium.

Jesus Navas made just his seventh start of the Premier League season, while Aleksandar Kolarov lined up alongside Nicolas Otamendi in central defence, with Leroy Sane retained at left midfield.

Many will inevitably lose faith in City's chance of winning the Premier League following Wednesday's bore draw, and Goal's Sammy Lee hinted the race may now be over:

The fans at the Etihad Stadium would have been forgiven for demanding more from both teams in what was a very drab first half, with neither club really able to press whatever advantage emerged in the opposition half.

While the Citizens—playing with an improvised defence as John Stones dropped to the bench—were slow in acclimating to their usual pace, Stoke were bereft of much inspiration moving forward with the ball.

It was a major improvement on the Potters' part, considering it wasn't long ago they conceded four during the opening 45 minutes with Tottenham Hotspur, but Guardiola will have been sorely disappointed with his team.

And although Sergio Aguero had been called upon in attack once more, James Robson of the Manchester Evening News noted City were unable to finish a string of chances created by Navas:

A bore draw was a fitting half-time scoreline for two teams that looked disinterested in the fixture at times, and both managers went into the dressing room with extremely different takes on the match so far.

Despite his promising performance in the first half, Navas was the first starting player to depart the pitch when he came off for David Silva in the 60th minute, moving into the No. 10 slot while Kevin De Bruyne went right.

While manager Mark Hughes' side were perhaps deserving of some credit in holding the home team at bay, City hardly looked like a team fighting to keep their Premier League title chances alive.

That being said, much of their innovation in the final 30 minutes largely emanated from Silva, whom Robson praised for the impact he had in smoothening City's attack:

City endeavoured to find Aguero with space around the Stoke area, but the Potters' coverage of the Argentinian meant the home outfit struggled to carve open much in terms of close-range chances.

In fact, it wasn't until late on in the match that Aguero managed to break an extraordinary duck, per Sky Sports Statto:

And that's how it would remain, with Hughes bringing on Giannelli Imbula and Glenn Whelan in place of Joe Allen and Saido Berahino, respectively, a pair of moves that worked in shoring up the visitors' midfield. 

Guardiola may not consider the race done—at least from a mathematical perspective—but Chelsea look to have too much momentum as City again struggle to find their own. 

Things don't get any easier for his side, either, as they prepare to travel to Middlesbrough in three days, while Stoke have a decent wait on their hands before they welcome Chelsea to the Bet365 Stadium. 

Post-Match Reaction

City boss Guardiola scrutinised his side's poor record at home in comparison to the team's away form in his post-match press conference, a comment that fell on the same night his men played in front of many empty seats:

Despite the disappointment of Wednesday's draw, the Spaniard was eager to move onto the next target in sight, an away visit to the Riverside Stadium prior to their second-leg Champions League clash with Monaco:

City could be paying the price for struggling to make do with a squad competing against multiple fronts, a sign that Guardiola could need to invest more heavily in the transfer window this coming summer.