Madcap finish sees Manchester City beat Swansea to go top
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Updated 12/12/2015 at 17:42 GMT
Premier League, Etihad Stadium - Manchester City 2 (Bony 26, Iheanacho 90+2) Swansea City 1 (Gomis 90)
Kalechi Iheanacho, Yaya Toure and Nicolas Otamendi celebrate Manchester City's late winner
Image credit: Reuters
A stoppage-time winner sent Manchester City top of the Premier League after a crazy finish to a 2-1 win over Swansea.
Yaya Toure's 92nd-minute shot deflected off Kalechi Iheanacho and looped past Lukasz Fabianski just seconds after Bafetimbi Gomis appeared to have earned Swansea a share of the points.
Wilfried Bony opened the scoring in the first half for a City side that never put Swansea away.
And they looked set to pay for their lack of killer instinct when Gomis rifled into the net on 90 minutes for a Swansea team led by caretaker manager Alan Curtis following Garry Monk's sacking.
But a last-ditch attack saw Toure's shot find its way in off Iheanacho's back to spare Manuel Pellegrini's men.
The win takes City ahead of Leicester City on goal difference. Arsenal can leapfrog both teams with a win against Aston Villa on Sunday, while Leicester take on Chelsea on Monday night.
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Bafetimbi Gomis celebrates his late equaliser for Swansea at Manchester City
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KEY MOMENTS
4’ – SAVE – Joe Hart stretches out a boot to make a crucial save after Sigurdsson's through-ball picks out the run of Routledge in behind. That was a terrific chance.
14’ – SAVE – Sigurdsson finds a pocket of space on the edge of the box and is picked out by a pull-back, testing Hart with a swerving strike.
26’ – GOAL! Wilfried Bony scores against his former club, heading home unmarked from a corner. 1-0 City.
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Wilfried Bony scores Manchester City's opening goal against Swansea
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46’ – SUB – City have made a change at half-time, replacing Sterling with Delph. That's a big of an odd one if it's a tactical change as Sterling was lively in the first 45, so presumably he's injured.
90’ – GOAL! thunders a shot past Hart from an angle after beating the offside trap and holding off Mangala. 1-1!
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Swansea's Bafetimbi Gomis fires past Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart
Image credit: Reuters
90+2’ – GOAL! City are back ahead as Yaya Toure cuts on to his left and sends a shot deflected by Iheanacho over the goalkeeper and into the corner. Who will claim it? Does it really matter?
PLAYER RATINGS
Man City: Hart 9; Sagna 7, Otamendi 7, Mangala 7, Clichy 6; Toure 8, Fernandinho 7; Navas 7, Silva 6, Sterling 6; Bony 7. Subs: Delph 7, De Bruyne 7, Iheanacho 6.
Swansea: Fabianski 7; Rangel 6, Fernandez 6, Williams 6, Taylor 6; Britton 6, Cork 6, Ki 8, Sigurdsson 7, Routledge 8; Ayew 6. Subs: Montero 6, Barrow 6, Gomis 8.
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Manchester City David Silva in action against Swansea City
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MAN OF THE MATCH
Joe Hart (Manchester City) – The England number one pulled of a string of fine saves to deny Swansea a point that they probably deserved on merit. First he denied Wayne Routledge in a one-on-one, before saving from Gylfi Sigurdsson on four separate occasions and coming off his line at impressive pace to beat Gomis to the ball late on. Hart deserved a clean-sheet, but he could do little about the goal at the death.
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Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson goes up against Manchester City's Yaya Toure
Image credit: Reuters
TALKING POINT
Has sacking Monk made an impact? Opinion seems to be split on whether removing Garry Monk from his post as Swansea manager was the right decision or not at Swansea, but the Welsh club were much-improved from their recent displays in this game at least and posed a constant threat on the counter-attack. Sigurdsson was particularly eye-catching in central midfield, and the re-emergence of Gomis as a goal threat is exactly what the side needs.
MATCH IN A TWEET
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