PREMIER LEAGUE

PEN PAL: Milner scores spot-kick ADAM LALLANA blew the chance to make it the week from hell for Pep Guardiola with a howling miss at the Etihad.

The England star fluffed his lines with one of the misses of the season from barely seven yards to leave Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp cursing his luck and Guardiola counting his blessings.

Instead, Guardiola had Sergio Aguero to thank for salvaging a point for Manchester City and helping him avoid another crushing defeat following his side’s Champions League exit to Monaco.

Aguero notched his seventh goal in as many games after the break to cancel out James Milner’s penalty for the visitors.

But in the end a point was not much use to either side in the fight for a top four finish and the biggest winners were fifth-placed Manchester United.

United’s win at Middlesbrough earlier in the day had increased the pressure on both these sides to secure a win in the race to bag Champions League qualification.

In this game last season the Reds produced a footballing masterclass to triumph 4-1 at the Etihad.

Klopp came to town looking for a repeat and to also maintain his strong record against Guardiola. The German had won five times against the Spaniard – more than any other boss in the game.

The clash started at a frantic pace that rarely let up, with both sides keen to go on the attack.

Guardiola’s men dominated the opening exchanges, though, with Aguero just failing to reach Raheem Sterling’s cross and David Silva blazing a shot into the sidenetting.

The home side threatened again when a lightning break involving Aguero, Sterling and Leroy Sane set up