Burnley 1-1 Manchester City
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Johann Berg Gudmundsson earned Burnley a point with just his second goal of the season for the Clarets
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola refused to blame Raheem Sterling for his side's failure to beat Burnley after the England forward missed a glorious late chance to secure victory.
With City 1-0 up and less than 20 minutes away from their 23rd league win of the season, Sterling somehow failed to find the target from six yards after meeting Kyle Walker's cross at the far post.
That buoyed the home crowd, as did Sterling's substitution soon afterwards, and Johann Berg Gudmundsson levelled for Burnley with eight minutes remaining.
Clarets boss Sean Dyche felt Sterling's miss "changed the feeling" of the game though: "The stadium erupted and everyone was with us. That started to grow."
But Guardiola insisted he did not take off Sterling because he had failed to score, and did not feel it was a decisive moment in the game.
"That is football," Guardiola said. "Today Raheem missed one chance - it can happen.
"It was not the first time that someone had missed a chance and it was not just Raheem, it happened a lot in this game.
"When we arrived for the last action for a pass, a one-against-one or to dribble against the central defender and shoot, we were not able to do that.
"I am delighted with the way we played but you have to score goals and we were not able to do that, which is why we dropped two points."
City cannot turn their dominance into goals
City had taken the lead through Danilo's long-range strike, after Bernardo Silva teed the Brazilian up following a short corner, but failed to turn their dominance into further goals.
Burnley had already seen Ben Mee and Aaron Lennon denied by Ederson when Gudmundsson struck.
He ran into the box to meet Matthew Lowton's cross with a powerful half-volley that City's Brazilian goalkeeper got a hand to, but could not keep out.
It meant City failed to win in the league for only the fourth time this season, allowing nearest rivals Manchester United to cut their lead to 13 points with a 2-0 win over Huddersfield.
Burnley have now gone nine league games without a win, but the manner of their comeback to hold the runaway leaders will give boss Sean Dyche something to smile about after a disappointing start to 2018.
City did not have enough players for seven subs
Raheem Sterling has scored 19 goals in all competitions but somehow sidefooted wide from Kyle Walker's low cross when City led 1-0
City were chasing their 23rd win in 26 league games this season, and also trying to become only the third team in the Premier League era (after Manchester United in 2000 and Chelsea in 2006) to hold an 18-point lead at the top of the table.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger complained this week that competition in the Premier League is being destroyed by City's financial power but the memo has obviously not reached Dyche.
His Burnley side rode their luck at times, notably with Sterling's terrible miss, but were a threat throughout and got their reward at the end of the game.
Guardiola had picked only six out of the seven permitted substitutes, because of a shortage of fit players and a reluctance to call upon his reserves, who played on Friday night.
But their failure to see out this victory was down to their sheer wastefulness, not any shortage of resources in their squad.
And while Sterling had complained before the game that City were being "butchered" by bad tackles, the Clarets' wholehearted approach never got near to anything remotely resembling dangerous play.
The only challenge that might have irked Guardiola was a scything first-half tackle by Kevin Long on Ilkay Gundogan that earned the Burnley defender a booking.
Burnley fans stay behind their team
The Clarets' current run is their worst since Dyche's side failed to win any of their first 10 Premier League games of the 2014-15 season following promotion.
But for the second time in four days, they rescued a point with a goal in the last 10 minutes, and it is clear the spirit that Dyche feels is a fundamental part of his side has not gone missing.
Helped by a home crowd that showed nothing but support for their players, the Clarets did not play like a side struggling for form or appear short of any confidence.
Only Southampton (with 12 games before Saturday) are currently on a longer winless run in the top-flight than the Clarets, whose last victory came against Stoke on 12 December.
However they have still picked up five points in that time, and remain on course to achieve Burnley's highest league finish since they finished sixth in 1974.
Man of the match - Ederson
The timing of Burnley's goal means City will be disappointed to only collect a point but things could have been even worse if not for their goalkeeper, who now has a song - to the tune of Oasis classic 'She's Electric' in his honour. It was bellowed out by the away fans on several occasions on Saturday, and for good reason
'You can't all be glory. Not when you're us' - what they said
City were 'outstanding' against Burnley - Guardiola
Man City boss Pep Guardiola: "Of course we are frustrated in terms of the result but the performance was outstanding against a Burnley side who are the most British of teams in terms of long balls and the way they play.
"But football is about goals. We needed to score the second, third and fourth when we had the chance. When you arrive in the last 15 minutes at Burnley 1-0, this is what can happen. I'm sad for the players because we played so well.
"What they have done this season, Burnley, is amazing. We controlled the game, but when we arrived in the last minutes at 1-0, there is danger."
Clarets had to dig in for City point - Dyche
Burnley manager Sean Dyche: "I was really pleased. City are a top-class side. We've been beaten 3-0 and 4-1 by them in our two previous games. We had to change something. We didn't really play with the quality needed in the first half.
"In the second half, City started really well and we had to dig in and do the ugly stuff. Then the confidence started to build. We started putting quality into their box, and in the end it was a fantastic ball and a fantastic goal.
"We don't dominate too many games with the ball so we've got to keep our shape. You can't all be glory. Not when you're us. You have to do the ugly stuff. But we still have some fine quality and we showed that with the goal.
"We're not saying we're the real deal but we're working hard to be better than last season and we're doing that."
Rare City slip, Danilo, Silva and Gudmundsson - match stats
City failed to win a Premier League game after scoring first for the first time in 26 matches, since a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in April 2017.
Burnley have gone nine Premier League games without a victory (D5 L4), their longest winless run since November 2014 (10 games).
City have scored in 25 of their 26 Premier League games this season; only one side has scored in each of their first 26 (Arsenal in 01/02 on their way to netting in all 38).
Danilo has netted two goals in the Premier League this season, equalling his best-ever return in a single campaign in Europe's big five leagues (two for Real Madrid in 2015-16).
Bernardo Silva has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last 15 appearances in all competitions for City (3 goals, 7 assists), this after scoring once and assisting just two more in his first 22 games for the club.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson has been directly involved in seven Premier League goals this season (2 goals, 5 assists) - more than any other Burnley player.
What next? City get a rest
City have seven days to recover before they host Leicester City next Saturday (17:30 GMT). It is only the third time this campaign they have not had a midweek match and other than through international breaks, it is their longest rest since the second weekend of the season. Guardiola says he is giving his players three days off. Burnley travel to Swansea (15:00 GMT) on the same day.