James Milner struck in the second minute of added time to rescue Manchester City a 1-1 draw against Hull City this afternoon.

The Citizens were heading for their third successive defeat at the Etihad Stadium until the England international found a way past a determined visiting side with a free kick right at the death.

Hull had earlier taken a shock first-half lead through David Meyler, who was able to capitalise on some slack defending from the hosts to put Steve Bruce's charges on course for a memorable win.

It was not to be in the end, though, with the champions showing the spirit needed to earn a late point.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look back at how the 90 minutes of action unfolded.

Match statistics

MANCHESTER CITY
Shots: 10
On target: 5
Possession: 74%
Corners: 13
Fouls: 9

HULL CITY
Shots: 6
On target: 3
Possession: 26%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 8

Was the result fair?

Having done so well to withstand 45 minutes of non-stop pressure from their opponents, Hull will feel incredibly hard done by not to have left Manchester with all three points this afternoon. Being denied victory in the dying stages of a game is never easy to take, of course, but Hull must take great pride from this performance and momentum into their next set of fixtures in order to push up the table.

The less said about the first-half showing from the champions the better, because for large parts it seemed as though it was they who were struggling down at the wrong end of the table rather than Bruce's men. Just a solitary shot on goal in the opening half, that coming courtesy of a simple Edin Dzeko header which Alan McGregor hardly had to break stride to collect, was followed up by a much more fluid second period.

Still, Man City barely mustered any clear-cut chances, being restricted to just minor opportunities up until the moment Sergio Aguero lashed an effort against the bar following some fine individual play. That signalled a late charge from the Citizens, and like they have done so often over the past few seasons, they showed the spirit needed to claim what could potentially be a valuable point come May.

Manchester City's performance

Make no mistake about it, this will be seen as two points dropped by Manuel Pellegrini. However, it was clear to see in the Chilean's expression when Milner's free kick hit the back of the net that he was simply relieved to get a point on the board and just about keep pace with leaders Chelsea, who are now seven points clear.

The biggest criticism of Man City in the first half was their lack of width, and time after time they were flooded off the ball in midfield, unable to break into the final third of the pitch. That changed with the introduction of Jesus Navas, who offered a welcome option out wide, although the record books will tell you that it was another substitute in Milner who made all the difference in dramatic style. It is now five games without a win for Pellegrini's charges and, with Barcelona to come in a few weeks time, their season is in serious threat of completely derailing unless they arrest this alarming slide in form.

Hull City's performance

An under-pressure Bruce mentioned in the build-up to this game how he needed a big result from his players in order to inject some much-needed confidence into the squad. He so very nearly got that result here, and, although a point at the reigning champions is not to be sniffed at, he will no doubt be feeling gutted this evening, having come so close to pulling off one of the results of the season.

It should be pointed out that it was hardly against the run of play when the Humbersiders took the lead through Meyler in the first half. Some shocking defending from the hosts allowed the Irish midfielder to fire home from close range and before that a piece of fine attacking play down the left from Robbie Brady created a glorious opening for Ahmed Elmohamady, which he headed against the bar. It was very much backs-to-the-wall stuff for the Tigers for the best part of 55 minutes, but they can certainly hold their heads up high having left the Etihad Stadium with a well-earned point.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Robbie Brady: Statistics do not always paint the full story, but they do exactly that on this occasion. The Irishman produced two well-timed tackles, four interceptions in dangerous areas and provided one key pass to highlight both his attacking and defensive capabilities.

Biggest gaffe

The defending for Hull's goal can be best described with one word; comical. Joe Hart was left stranded at one point as he raced to collect a ball which was cut out, before Vincent Kompany made a hash of his attempted clearance which allowed another shot to come in. The post then came to City's rescue but still they failed to learn their lesson, and Meyler ghosted in unmarked to cap off a rather bizarre 15 seconds or so.

Referee performance

Jonathan Moss had one big call to make, and he appeared to get it wrong. David Silva, who failed to make any sort of impact during his time on the pitch, was bundled over by Alex Bruce inside the box, yet the referee was having none of it. That was a big call that the official appeared to get wrong, with home supporters not shy in letting him know how they felt afterwards. He did gift the hosts a free kick late on following Tom Huddlestone's somewhat tame challenge on Aguero, however, and Milner did the rest.

What next?

Manchester City: The Citizens really cannot afford to slip up any more between now and the end of the season if they are to overhaul Chelsea's seven-point lead at the top, and the first of their must-win fixtures comes away at Stoke City on Wednesday.

Hull City: Likewise, Hull return to action in the coming days when they play host to Aston Villa. That fixture is followed up by another huge meeting against Queens Park Rangers as the business end of the campaign fast approaches.