Raheem to rescue for Blues
WINGER COMES TO CITY’S RESCUE ONCE AGAIN AS BLUES OVERCOME OVER-THE-TOP TACKLES AND POOR REFEREE TO SECURE DESERVED LATE WIN
IF you are going to get sent off, it might as well be deep in injury time having just scored the winning goal – and for ecstatically celebrating with your travelling fans.
And while City star Raheem Sterling hardly had the greatest of games, for two matches running now he has rescued the Blues.
Sterling was the hero again as the Blues secured a crucial, last-gasp win against what appeared to be, at times, the 12 men of Bournemouth.
How it got to the dying moments was beyond belief – the Cherries should have been down to nine men by that point, while City failed to make the most of their technical superiority and territorial domination.
That was until Sterling sniffed a chance in the box and his shot deflected and looped into the far corner, sending the fans into delirium.
Sterling raced over to celebrate with the travelling fans, who spilled onto the pitch, and he promptly received a second booking which saw him march down the tunnel before the final whistle.
It was ironic that he should be the man to walk after Mike Dean missed two of the most blatant red card offences you will see.
He even acknowledged that he had seen the first – Nathan Ake’s trip which stopped Gabriel Jesus from being through on goal – by brandishing a yellow.
The second was a wicked lunge on Jesus by Steve Cook, part of what seemed a premeditated plan by the Cherries to rough up a team against whom they have never secured a Premier League point.
Those fans were furious, specially at Cook’s studs-up special, right in front of them, so their delight at Sterling’s just winner was all the more sweet.
The Blues had gone behind to a screamer of a goal from Charlie Daniels, a gorgeous half-volley which flashed in off the bar, Danilo wisely staying out of its way.
And it was Jesus who got them back in it, with the help of David Silva, providing the best moment of quality in the game.
Jesus quickly took a free-kick to Silva and then dashed off to give the midfielder a difficult option.
More alert than anyone else on the pitch, Silva spotted the run and with delicate precision slid it through to the Brazilian, who kept his balance under Ake’s challenge to finish.
City were much the better team after that, although Josh King hit the post, as did Nicolas Otamendi with a free header from a corner.
But they could not find a way through, trying to link play through the massed defence, without the power option possessed by other title contenders.
That makes them great to watch – and Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy will clearly add to that attractiveness – but maybe detracts from their title credentials.
But when your team has just won late in the game, against a team aided by terrible reffing, such trivia hardly matters!