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Man City Once Hit The Woodwork FIVE Times In A Match Without Scoring Before Conceding A Last-Minute Winner

Man City Once Hit The Woodwork FIVE Times In A Match Without Scoring Before Conceding A Last-Minute Winner

City suffered the remarkable defeat to Bolton back in the 2005-06 season.

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan

Manchester City will take on Liverpool for the Community Shield on Saturday in their final warm-up match ahead of the new Premier League season.

Pep Guardiola's side will go in search of their fifth league title in six years this term - a remarkable period of dominance only rivalled in the modern era by that of Manchester United in the early years of the Premier League.

Guardiola has won nine major trophies since arriving at the Etihad in 2016 and he is likely to add to his collection this season, with City the current bookies' favourite to win both the Premier League and Champions League.

City were managed by former England international Stuart Pearce at the time (Image: Alamy)
City were managed by former England international Stuart Pearce at the time (Image: Alamy)

But it has not always been so easy for City to win, or even score.

Back in 2005, three years before Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of the club and began to transform it into the force it is today, City suffered one of the most remarkable losses of the Premier League era.

The Manchester club, who were managed at the time by Stuart Pearce, were beaten 1-0 at home by Bolton Wanderers.

But that hardly begins to tell the story of an incredible match that saw City hit the woodwork five times without scoring, before conceding a winner deep into added time.

City fans may have suspected it would not be their day when striker Antoine Sibierski struck the bar twice with a powerful header in the first half.

His initial effort beat Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and struck the frame of the goal, cannoning into the air before landing back onto the bar and out for a corner.

Jaaskelainen then pulled off a stunning save to tip a shot from Sibierski onto the bar and out for another corner just minutes later.

In the second half, City midfielder Joey Barton struck the post before his teammate Kiki Musampa rattled the bar with another powerful effort as City pushed hard for an opener.

City went on to miss a number of other opportunities before Sun Jihai hit the woodwork for a fifth time – striking the bar with a superb effort from the edge of the box.

Gary Speed scored a late penalty to snatch an unlikely victory for Bolton (Image: Alamy)
Gary Speed scored a late penalty to snatch an unlikely victory for Bolton (Image: Alamy)

Pearce's side were made to pay for their wastefulness deep into injury time when defender Richard Dunne was penalised for a blatant handball in the area.

The late Gary Speed stepped up to fire the resulting penalty past David James in the fourth minute of added time, securing an unlikely victory for Sam Allardyce's Bolton.

City would go on to finish 15th in the Premier League that season, while Bolton came eighth - with Chelsea successfully retaining their Premier League title under Jose Mourinho.

Featured Image Credit: Premier League

Topics: Manchester City, Football, Bolton Wanderers, Premier League

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

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