QPR 2-2 Man City - Aguero rescues point for City

Charlie Austin scored yet again on Saturday

The Saturday night game is often a damp squib but this one was a cracker from start to finish. Alex Johnson reports.

A brace from Sergio Aguero helped Manchester City twice come from behind to snatch a draw at Queens Park Rangers.

Charlie Austin opened the scoring but after Aguero equalised before the break a Martin Demichelis own goal restored QPR's lead in the second half.

Aguero then netted his second of the game in the final 10 minutes to rescue a point for City, who fall even further behind Chelsea in the title race.

Harry Redknapp made one change from the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea last time out as Bobby Zamora made his third start of the season, replacing Junior Hoilett in the starting line-up.

City travelled to west London without key duo Vincent Kompany and David Silva so Manuel Pellegrini was forced to make a number of changes. The Chilean brought Eliaquim Mangala back into the defence while Samir Nasri made his first start since September after recovering from injury.

Bet 10 Get 30 with Betfair Plus Money Back if you Lose

The visitors lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Yaya Toure playing just behind Aguero and they found their stride early on, the Argentine striker firing over from 30 yards after a bright start.

But QPR quickly exposed the visitors' defensive frailties and Austin had two goals disallowed in the space of a minute. First, the in-form striker headed in from the right wing and was correctly pulled back for offside by the linesman.

Joe Hart then slipped when taking the free-kick - accidentally knocking the ball with his left foot before hitting it with his right on the follow through - and gave possession straight to Austin who buried a shot in the bottom corner.

The goal was correctly ruled out for a foul kick from Hart, however referee Jonathan Moss allowed the England goalkeeper to retake the dead ball, instead of awarding QPR an indirect free-kick inside the area.

But the frustration among the home supporters did not last long. Ten minutes later Mauricio Isla slipped a pass through to Austin who beat the offside trap and finished with aplomb for the Englishman's fourth goal in his last three games.

The hosts continued to threaten after the goal but it was City who netted next, completely out of the blue.

Aguero was ruled just onside by the linesman as he latched on to a long ball from Mangala and broke away from Steven Caulker to squeeze a left-footed shot beyond Rob Green although there was more than a suspicion of handball.

Just before the half-time whistle Austin could have restored QPR's lead. A loose touch from Gael Clichy presented an opportunity for the striker to add his second, only for Hart to make a fine save to keep his powerful shot out.

The home side continued to pose a threat after the break but were unable to carve out many opportunities.

City tried to change things around with the introduction of Edin Dzeko but the Bosnian striker was forced off with an injury just minutes after coming on to the pitch.

QPR were on course for a famous victory with a quarter of an hour remaining when Demichelis headed Austin's teasing cross into his own net.

And it looked like the Hoops would hold on for all three points as Aguero and substitute James Milner both had efforts cleared off the line.

But Aguero made no mistake in the 83rd minute as he latched on to a pinpoint pass from Toure and went around Green before placing a shot beyond two defenders on the line.

QPR will be buoyed by the performance but a point is not enough to move them out of the bottom three. City are now eight points adrift of league leaders Chelsea who beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield earlier in the day.