Czech Republic defender Vladimir Coufalfuelled the Premier League title charge for defending champions Manchester Cityafter he scored the second goalfor the Citizensby putting through his own net. The own goal from Czech Republic right-back ensured that Manchester City came from two goals down to secure a draw against London team West Ham United via a 2-2 draw.
Manchester City came into the West Ham game with the quest to get the win that would take the Premier League holders closer to retaining their title. In-form Jarrod Bowen scored the first goal of the game on 24 minutes before he doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time. The former Hull City star was the difference between the two teams at the end of the first 45 minutes. His two goals proved to be the difference for the Hammers who led 2-0 at the break at the expense of Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola and his City players were facing a defeat that could hurt their title chances at the halftime interval. In the face of adversity, Manchester City rose to the challenge in the second half and they could have won the game if Algerian star Riyad Mahrez waste the chance to score a late penalty for a 3-2 win.It took just four second half minutes for Manchester Cityto halve the two-nil deficitat the break after club-record signing Jack Grealishscored via a deflected strike. The Citizens levelled proceedings in the 69th minute when Czech Republic star Coufal inadvertently put the ball in the back of the net off a Mahrez free-kick. Mahrez then wasted a fantastic opportunity to win the points for his team when West Ham centre back Craig Dawson was penalised for handball in the box.
Manchester City would have needed just a point to win a second successive league title when they host Aston Villa on the final day of the season if they had beaten West Ham. With the draw from the West Ham game, they need to beat Villa to retain their title.