Updated

Manchester City was held to a 2-2 draw by Liverpool at the Etihad on Sunday, leaving the Citizens nine points adrift of Manchester United in the race for the Premier League title.

Roberto Mancini's side came into the weekend with a seven-point deficit behind the league leaders, but Sunday's draw, paired with United's 1-0 defeat of Fulham on Saturday, sees the reigning champions improve to 53 points but fall further behind in the chase to retain their crown.

Liverpool remains in seventh place in the table by improving to 36 points. The Reds, who have thrown away second-half leads in successive league matches against Arsenal and City, have yet to record a win against any of the top-six clubs so far this season.

City had drawn first blood in the 22nd minute when Edin Dzeko beat Daniel Agger to a low cross played in front of goal and cooly slotted a one-time effort past Pepe Reina.

Liverpool equalized just six minutes later, but the goal did not come without a protest from the home side.

Dzeko appeared to be fouled at midfield but the Reds carried on playing while the City striker laid injured on the ground. Liverpool maintained possession for a bit before Daniel Sturridge lashed an absolute screamer through traffic and into the bottom corner from outside the penalty area.

The visitors took the lead in spectacular fashion in the 73rd minute when a failed clearance fell to Steven Gerrard at the top of the box. The Liverpool captain brought the ball down with his chest before unleashing a powerful shot that dipped just inside the post for his seventh league goal of the season.

The advantage was short-lived, though, as City leveled the score just four minutes later when Sergio Aguero latched on to a through ball and caught Pepe Reina off his line with a sensational effort from a seemingly impossible angle.

Tottenham 1, West Bromwich 0

West Bromwich, England - Tottenham inched close to third place in the Premier League on Sunday, earning a 1-0 win over 10-man West Bromwich at the Hawthorns.

Goran Popov was sent off in the 47th minute for foolishly spitting in the direction of Kyle Walker, handing Spurs a tremendous opportunity to go on and claim all three points.

The visitors did just that when Gareth Bale struck midway through the second period, firing a thunderous shot into the upper corner.

Tottenham improves to 45 points and retains fourth place where it sits one point shy of Chelsea, which suffered a disappointing loss at Newcastle on Saturday.

West Bromwich, which has not claimed a league win since Boxing Day, remains stuck on 34 points.