Gianluigi Donnarumma rush and Rodri return not enough for nervous Man City

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Manchester City squeezed Sunderland in the second half but were unable to get a Premier League winner on a night with injuries

When Pep Guardiola pictured what Rodri's return to action would be, it can't have been anything like this. Having missed two months of action since his last aborted comeback, City's star midfielder was rushed into the action on a bitterly cold night at the Stadium of Light with the Premier League contenders struggling to hold it together against this year's upstarts.

Nathan Ake had nearly been forced off in the third minute, Nico Gonzalez barely made it to the break before Rodri was called and Savinho had to be taken off almost as soon as the second half started. As if he didn't know it already, Guardiola was shown again what a slog it is to try to go the distance in a title race.

In those circumstances, City will cherish the point they fought for that leaves them four behind leaders Arsenal at the halfway point. As they rush home to prepare for the visit of manager-less Chelsea on Sunday, they will hope that a bruising night in the north-east will not send their title hopes south.

Guardiola prefers to play promoted teams in the winter months, where their momentum from the previous season's promotion has been replaced by the grim reality of scrabbling desperately for points in an unforgiving league where the gap to the next division grows bigger each year. Except Sunderland read the script and refused to go along with it, meaning they entered their 19th game of the campaign two points off fifth spot and unbeaten in all nine of their home matches.

They showed why in a scrappy match on a poor pitch, restricting City to just one shot on target in the first half - albeit one that Erling Haaland should have done better from - and making life difficult for the defence. Having made so few changes to his lineups over recent weeks, Guardiola watched on as the same players struggled to grasp control of the game.

The three subs before the hour mark did freshen things up, and Josko Gvardiol was denied with a header from close range before a looping effort hit the outside of the post. Between those efforts, Doku thought he had weaved his way through the box for the opening goal, only to see his goalbound shot smash into Nordi Mukiele's head and away to safety.

As the game neared a close, Gianluigi Donnarumma was rushing to get the ball back in play as City looked to make their resurgence out and find the breakthrough. It did not come to preserve Sunderland's home record and leave the Blues with mixed feelings travelling back to Manchester.

Rodri's first minutes for months were exactly what City will have wanted, not flashy but steely and giving the team the base they needed in the second half to take control of the game. Doku looked instantly sharp and Haaland will not have many nights where he is frustrated like this.

If their eight-match winning run in all competitions was to end, it was not with defeat and the way they battled and improved at Sunderland will please Guardiola. At the same time, it is advantage Arsenal and while Rodri's return is priceless City face a nervous wait as they hope that the injuries they picked up in this game do not cost them further with a tight turnaround for the next two games.