STERLING HITS 96TH MINUTE CITY WINNER
GUTS, FIGHT, TOUCH OF LUCK AND DRAMATIC LATE WINNER ENSURES BLUES STAY WELL CLEAR OF REDS ... AND KEEP THEIR WINNING RUN GOING
FOOTBALL brilliance? Check. Guts and resilience? Check. A slice of luck? Check.
And that final, crucial element of never-say-die determination? It was there, in the shape of Raheem Sterling’s right boot, wrapping itself around a wonderful, late, winning goal.
Not that the Blues did not earn their good fortune on a freezing night at the Etihad, against dogged and wellorganised opponents.
The goal from Sterling was certainly not lucky in execution – it was a brilliant curling strike from a player who has been exceptional this season.
But it is true that scoring a deflection, and then bagging the winner with the last kick of the game speaks of some good fortune.
Saints had already hit the bar through Wesley Hoedt and then skied another huge chance over the bar through Maya Yoshida in a fraught first half when both fans and players had to heed Pep Guardiola’s pleas for patience.
And then, just as at Huddersfield on Sunday, the Blues came out pumped up and stoked with belief that nothing should be allowed to deny them their football destiny.
They say fortune favours the brave, and so it proved as City took risks and drove forward relentlessly against a team that defended in numbers.
You can’t blame Southampton or their manager Mauricio Pellegrino for being so negative, given what has happened to less solid teams against this merciless City side in previous games this season.
But it makes home matches – and most away ones too - less of a football match and more of a training ground exercise.
At least Saints provided SOME threat at the other end, and they have clearly identified set-pieces as a vulnerability for the Blues.
In the end, the ice-breaker – an apt metaphor on such a night – was all about Kevin de Bruyne’s invention and Nicolas Otamendi’s readiness to attack the ball at set-pieces.
The Belgian took a free-kick from out on the left and as everyone expected him to seek Vincent Kompany’s far-post run, instead he whipped one at the near post, where Otamendi was seeking a touch.
He didn’t get one, but Virgil van Dijk – who was heavily linked with City in the summer and was made to wear a Blues top as a joke by team-mates – did, diverting it past Fraser Forster.
Still, De Bruyne will get the goal as his free-kick was on target – making it a tally of four vitally important strikes for him this season.
It seemed City would then run away with the game, as they usually do, but when sub Sofiane Boufal suckered Fabian Delph at the far post and set up Oriol Romeu for the equaliser, it seemed the Blues had been thwarted, and the lead at the top of the table over United would be down to six points.
But when all hope seemed lost, Sterling picked the ball up and cruised across the edge of the area, seeking an opening for a shot.
There wasn’t one, so he created one of his own with a brilliant curling effort which found the top corner.
A beautiful end to a frustrating night!