HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 1, MANCHESTER CITY 2
- Nicolas Otamendi own goal form a corner puts Huddersfield Town into the lead just before half time
- Raheem Sterling wins penalty that Sergio Aguero converts just after half time
- Leroy Sane hits the bar from a free kick
- Sterling gets the winner after Gabriel Jesus shot rebounds off Jonas Lossl onto him and into the goal
- Rajiv van La Parra sent off for altercation with Sane after the final whistle
Raheem Sterling was the centre of attention after he won the equalising penalty and deflected the late winner as Manchester City found a way to beat a battling Huddersfield Town side to win at the John Smith’s Stadium and maintain their 100% away record.
City extended their winning run to 18 games, restoring the eight point gap at the top of the league, with a winning goal that bounced in off Sterling from Jonas Lossl who had just blocked Gabriel Jesus’ shot.
It was a sickener for Town fans who had seen their side defy the Premier League leaders for 84 minutes, taking the lead in first half injury time through a Nicolas Otamendi own goal but conceding an equaliser just two minutes into the second half before holding out until Sterling’s late winner.
Town manager David Wagner’s tactics snuffed out much of City’s threat even during a purple patch for David Silva as City wasted chance after chance to take the lead in the first half and will feel aggrieved not to get a share of the points as City won after being a goal down at half time for the first time since April 1995.
The Terriers made three changes from the side that lost heavily at Bournemouth, Christopher Schindler returned to the starting lineup after missing the south coast defeat through suspension. Jonathan Hogg and club captain Tommy Smith, a Manchester City academy graduate, also started while Martin Cranie, Elias Kachunga, and Florent Hadergjonaj stepped down.
Star player Aaron Mooy was sold by City to Town and has been a key player for the Terriers this season.
Pep Guardiola made five changes to the side that beat Feyenoord 1-0 in midweek, with David Silva, Leroy Sane, Fabian Delph, Fernandinho and club captain Vincent Kompany making the Town side much stronger than the side that were held to a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup earlier this year with Sergio Aguero continuing in the side upfront.
City gave the Terriers a torrid opening few minutes, picking at their organised defence which had been drilled to press sparingly as City approached, building up an impressive corner count in the opening few minutes.
Sergio Aguero had the ball in the back of the net after 13 minutes but he was well offside for Kevin De Bruyne’s right wing free kick.
The Terriers were playing a high risk game, playing the offside trap while abandoning their usual high pressing game unless City ventured too close.
While Sane was making inroads into the Terriers they tried to counter with breaks whenever City lost the ball, with Tom Ince targeting Fabian Delph, while Laurent Depoitre was robbed of the ball by Kompany when the bounce took out Otamendi and Delph in a move reminiscent of his goal against United weeks ago.
With half time rolling closer City upped a gear and the game opened up with David Silva producing some moments of magic to pick the Town lock.
Schindler had to nick the ball off Aguero after the Spaniard had conjured a great through ball on the turn.
Another flick put Aguero clean through and the Argentine striker forced Lossl into a save with Raheem Sterling blazing the rebound wide.
And Aguero was given the ball on a plate again by Silva but his effort was tame.
Fernandinho blazed over the bar when delivered a cutback as the chances piled up for City but, typically, the Terriers bit back with a late shock of their own.
Aaron Mooy had already delivered a chance which Matthias Zanka had headed wide from an offside position.
Ince won a corner at the end of the first half, and Chris Schindler’s flick-on was put into his own goal by Nicolas Otamendi in added time for that extra bit of drama.
If City boss Pep Guardiola was unhappy at half time during the Feyenoord game in midweek he would have been livid at conceding a sloppy set piece goal at the stadium where Town had turned over Manchester United just weeks ago.
He needn’t have worried too much as City were back on level terms less than two minutes into the second half when Sergio Aguero sent Jonas Lossl the wrong way with a spot kick – his eleventh goal of the season – after Scott Malone had pushed over Raheem Sterling in the penalty area.
The stage was set for a siege of the Town goal but to their credit Town resisted well, although Jonathan Hogg was booked for bringing David Silva down in the 56th minute, conceding a free kick that Sane curled onto the bar.
The bookings started flying in at the same time as the meaty tackles as the home fans booed the refereeing. Fernandinho was booked for a theatrical dive as Rajiv van La Parra tried to tackle him while Kyle Walker joined Sterling as the target of booing from Town fans as he fully participated in the physical game developing after the break.
With City’s frustrations growing Guardiola swapped out Kompany for Gabriel Jesus and simply went for it – outpassing their hosts in the second half alone by an incredible 336 to 37, ending with almost 80% possession and denying Town a shot on target of their own.
In the end, the scrappy winner came after an incisive City move saw De Bruyne release Sterling to chase a through ball between the tired Town defence.
The ball fell to Gabriel Jesus whose shot rebounded off Jonas Lossl but City had a massive stroke of luck as it fell to Raheem Sterling who knew little about it as the ball looped up off him and into Lossl’s net.
It was Sterling’s 12th goal of the season – the most he has ever scored in a season – and it isn’t even December yet as the England winger gratefully took the gift to momentarily silence the John Smith’s boo boys.
Devastated Town had to go for it, but could only manage a Mooy free kick that hit the side netting but their frustrations were underlined after the final whistle after Van La Parra was red carded after the final whistle for a pointless scuffle with Leroy Sane.
In the end, City knew they had been in a game and the travelling fans can now start to believe as the City players went over to celebrate with their fans at the end of their sternest test yet.