Aberdeen were held to a goalless draw by bottom-of-the-table St Johnstone in a Premiership contest which will not live long in the memory.
The Dons were chasing a third straight league win, which would have propelled them into the top half of the standings for the first time this season.
But they did not trouble Dimitar Mitov enough to merit maximum points as winless Saints picked up a deserved point at a wet, miserable Pittodrie.
Aberdeen made two changes from the side that drew 1-1 with HJK Helsinki in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, Connor Barron and Jonny Hayes coming in for Leighton Clarkson and Jack MacKenzie.
St Johnstone were able to select skipper Liam Gordon after his red card against Livingston last weekend was downgraded to a yellow on appeal.
But Gordon and his fellow defenders did not have much to do in an uninspiring first half, which produced next to nothing in the way of chances.
Other than a Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes free-kick from distance, which Mitov fumbled before gathering at the second attempt, there was not an effort on target at either end,
However, Aberdeen thought they had taken the lead on the stroke of half-time when their former stalwart Andrew Considine headed into his own net when trying to deal with Barron’s cross.
But with Duk marginally offside and deemed to be interfering with play, the goal was chalked off following a VAR review – much to the annoyance of the home support.
An inventive free-kick almost paid off for the Dons early in the second half as Hayes fed Barron to create a better crossing angle, but his delivery just evaded Richard Jensen.
Reds boss Barry Robson made a double switch in the 56th minute in a bid to energise his midfield, with captain Graeme Shinnie and Jamie McGrath making way for Clarkson and Dante Polvara.
The visitors were still comfortable, although Luke Robinson nearly put his team in trouble with a stray pass in a dangerous area, which Aberdeen should have made more of.
Down the other end, Gordon unleashed a powerful 25-yard shot, which deflected narrowly wide for a corner as Saints sensed they could break their winless duck at the eighth attempt.
It was the hosts who looked likeliest, though, as they upped the pressure in the closing stages.
Bojan Miovski spurned their best opportunity in the 71st minute when he collected Barron’s pass and cut across the box to work a shooting chance on to his favoured left foot, only to blaze his shot harmlessly over from 12 yards.
The North Macedonia international then flashed a stoppage-time header wide from a Hayes free-kick as the match ended in stalemate.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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