Manchester City left it late to gain some points once more yesterday, beating Bournemouth 2-1 at the vitality stadium. It follows on from their late draw with Everton on Monday, and they remain third in the Premier League.
The Cherries opened the scoring in the 13th minute, with midfielder Charlie Daniels thumping home a half-volley from distance at a tight angle. The way his sliced his left foot through it but managed to produce such power at the same time, smashing it onto the underside of Ederson’s crossbar and into the net was reminiscent of a prime Frank Lampard goal. An early contender for goal of the season for sure. However, it didn’t take City long to level it up, with David Silva sliding through a perfect pass into the path of youngster Gabriel Jesus, who slid it past Asmir Begovic. City then dominated the first half, hitting Bournemouth with multiple attacks, running through either Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva, and then spreading through to one of the attackers.
City then dominated the first half, hitting Bournemouth with multiple attacks, running through either Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva, and then spreading through to one of the attackers.
Bournemouth did very well to hold off Man City for the majority of the game, but finally, their defence gave way in the 97th minute. Sterling jinked his way through two defenders and knocked it into De Bruyne, who slid it into Leroy Sane. The German pulled it back for Sterling, who controlled the ball excellently, and sent a deflected shot looping into the net to send the City fans into euphoria.
What happened next would become the most debated topic of the weekend, but first, let’s back up a bit. City won the ball back after Bournemouth substitute Lys Mousset made, what the referee deemed, a poor challenge, which would have sent the Cherries in on goal. The Match Of The Day pundits seemed very against the ref’s decision, but I can see why he gave it. He got the player before the ball, so really it should be a free-kick. But, I do disagree with where the free-kick was taken from, it was about 12 yards behind where the foul took place, giving City a better chance to open up play with more space to gain momentum.
City then went up and scored, and, understandably, Raheem Sterling was clearly overjoyed. He ran over to the City fans, and they celebrated like they had just won the league. Sterling was then given a second yellow card for going into the crowd to celebrate, even when he stayed on the pitch, and the city fans surrounded him on the sidelines. The referee had also indicated five minutes of stoppage time when seven was played. For me, he should have blown the whistle after Mousset’s foul, rather than carrying on for too long.
City’s win keeps them in the top three and shows their intent this season. Both Manchester clubs have been tipped as the favourites for the title for a long time, and this very much looks the case, with United scoring ten without reply in three games, and city maintaining their unbeaten record.
Where do you think City will finish this season? Will they remain ahead of United, or will the Red Devils topple their noisy neighbours? Leave your opinion in the comments down below.
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Billy
In the dugout 