BOURNEMOUTH 1, MANCHESTER CITY 2
Raheem Sterling hit a late late equaliser for Manchester City but was then sent off for over celebrating a strike which won all three points on the south coast for City.
Bournemouth had looked set for a hard fought draw after taking an early lead from Charlie Daniels’ contender for goal for the season from outside the area before Gabriel Jesus levelled things up.
Both sides then hit the woodwork before a flurry of yellow cards in the second half led to the injury time drama.
Pre-match talk was all about Sergio Aguero who apparently didn’t warm up after being named among the subs at the Vitality Stadium as Pep Guardiola made four changes to the side that salvaged a point at home to Everton.
Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva replaced Aguero and Leroy Sane and were deployed either side of Gabriel Jesus, with Danilo coming in to replace the suspended Kyle Walker at right back.
John Stones joined Aguero on the bench as his place was taken by Benjamin Mendy who slotted in on the left side of a flat back four.
Bournemouth got off the mark in the 13th minute with a spectacular strike when Charlie Daniels tried a long shot from 25 yards out struck on the half volley which went in off the crossbar and post giving Ederson no chance.
It was only the second goal that Bournemouth had ever scored against City and they almost doubled their advantage through Jermain Defoe but Ederson made the save.
After that shock beginning City got a grip of the game and they dominated until the end but couldn’t create many definitive chances.
Gabriel Jesus had some pressure on him after being preferred to Aguero as the lone striker in City’s 4-3-3 formation but he scored with his first chance past Asmir Begovic after a great return pass from David Silva.
Jesus had two great chances to extend City’s lead in the minutes after the equaliser – Nathan Ake should have been sent off for a poor challenge on him after a poor back pass while Mendy’s fine cross for Jesus was shinned wide by the Brazilian.
Both Bournemouth and City hit the post in a second half which saw Josh King and Nicolas Otamendi hit the woodwork with chances.
Yellow cards were racking up as the home side frustrated City who were starved of chances.
The home side could have nicked it when King forced Ederson into a low save in added time but heartbreak was just around the corner after a series of injuries in added time.
Seven minutes into injury time Sterling struck after exchanging passes with Danilo. His strike took a deflection off Andrew Surman which gave Begovic no chance to save it.
The away end erupted in joy as the City players ran to meet them.
Once the dust had settled Mike Dean gave Sterling his marching orders a full ten minutes into added time – his first career red card in 162 appearances in the Premier League.
UPDATE: Bournemouth issued a statement on an alleged incident with Sergio Aguero and a steward during injury time which reports that an assault allegation was withdrawn due to a ‘misunderstanding’.