Pep Guardiola already knows why Riyad Mahrez is difference-maker in Liverpool FC title battle

On Tuesday Manchester City secured safe passage to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win against Championship strugglers Peterborough United. Yet despite the final score, City's performance was worryingly similar to their other recent outings.

For the third game in a row, Pep Guardiola's side struggled to break down a compact and deep-lying defence. Peterborough parked every man behind the ball when City were in possession, purposely closing the spaces between the lines to limit City's chances to create.

The Blues' created very little in the first-half, as was the case over the course of 180 minutes against Tottenham and Everton.

City lost 3-2 against the former and beat the latter 1-0, but the three goals they scored did not come through attacking incisiveness or free-flowing moves. In all three instances, a mistake of some sort came to City's aid.

Ilkay Gundogan's equaliser against Spurs was typical of City reverting to their plan B when things aren't going well. The idea is to make lots of crosses and pounce on the second ball, and that is exactly what happened.

Hugo Lloris spilt a Raheem Sterling cross and Gundogan was on hand to convert the rebound.

City's late equaliser, which looked to have salvaged a draw, was a Riyad Mahrez penalty, awarded by the VAR after Cristian Romero handled Bernardo Silva's cross. Again, a mistake giving City a helping hand.

Phil Foden's winner at Goodison Park a week later had an air of fortune about it, the ball falling to him in the six-yard box after Michael Keane reacted to a deflected as if he'd been standing in quicksand.

After another flat 45 minute showing down in Cambridgeshire it looked like City might need another defensive mishap to help them unlock the opposition defence