Sunderland held Manchester City to a goalless draw on News Year’s Day.

Manchester City lost ground on Premier League leaders Arsenal in Matchweek 19 after they were held to a 0-0 draw at Sunderland.

Pep Guardiola’s side missed their opportunity to move back within two points of the Gunners, following the entertaining stalemate at the Stadium of Light on New Year’s Day.

Bernardo Silva had an early goal ruled out for offside, while Savinho and Josko Gvardiol also went close to scoring for the visitors, whose six-match winning streak has now ended.

Brian Brobbey and Eliezer Mayenda had Sunderland’s best openings, as the Black Cats showed their defensive resilience to maintain their unbeaten Premier League home record this season.

Man City stay in second place, but are now four points behind the league leaders, while Sunderland remain seventh.

How the match unfolded

The visitors thought they had taken the lead in the sixth minute, with Silva volleying home from close range after Erling Haaland flicked on Rayan Cherki's corner. However, the skipper was denied by the offside flag.

At the other end, Brobbey outmuscled Ruben Dias to latch onto Nordi Mukiele's long ball, but Man City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma thwarted him from a tight angle.

Haaland then shot straight at Robin Roefs from a Phil Foden cutback in the 37th minute, while Trai Hume headed Granit Xhaka's cross over in first-half stoppage time.

Savinho fired over from Cherki's centre before calling Roefs into action as Man City, who introduced the fit-again Rodri at the break, made a purposeful start to the second half.

Mayenda drew a smart reflex save from Donnarumma down to his left in the 54th minute, and Roefs denied Gvardiol's close-range header 11 minutes later.

Gvardiol also clipped the outside of a post with a speculative over-the-shoulder volley and had a late effort blocked by Lutsharel Geertruida, as the hosts held out for a share of the spoils.

Stubborn Sunderland hold firm

Sunderland’s unbeaten home record since returning to the top flight remains firmly intact, thanks to superb last-ditch defending towards the end of this game.

They have avoided defeat in their opening league match of the last eight calendar years, though they needed the offside flag to come to their rescue to deny Silva early on.

As he has been for most of this season, Roefs was also on top form, with smart reflex saves to keep out the likes of Haaland and Gvardiol as Man City tried to turn the screw with little success.

But Sunderland’s determination to see out the draw was epitomised by Mukiele taking Jeremy Doku's close-range attempt straight in the face, as well as Geertruida's well-placed block from Gvardiol.

Their spirited display means Regis Le Bris' side have now taken points from each of the Premier League’s top five teams, as their successful return to the top tier continues.

They will look to build on this momentum during their away double-header in the capital against Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford.

Guardiola's side frustrated at Stadium of Light

Man City’s winning streak of eight matches in all competitions, which included a resounding 3-0 win over Sunderland, comes to an end, though they cannot be accused of a lack of effort.

Guardiola’s side enjoyed the majority of the possession and threw everything they had at Sunderland’s goal in the final third, but just could not find a way past their stubborn hosts.

Coincidentally, it was also at the Stadium of Light where Man City last failed to win their opening league match of a calendar year.

That was back in 2012 when Ji Dong-won wrote his name into Sunderland folklore, with his last-minute strike sealing a dramatic 1-0 victory.

Traditionally strong starters to the year, despite a generally positive display 14 years later, Man City have failed to score in a Premier League game in January for the first time in nine years.

Given the attacking prowess his team have shown this season, this will be a performance that will have frustrated Guardiola, as Haaland and Foden failed to find their groove, while it took substitute Gvardiol to spark some life in the final third.

More importantly, Man City missed the chance to restore the pressure on Arsenal, but there is little time for them to dwell on their disappointment, as they will host managerless Chelsea on Sunday.