OptiNews - Friday 24 to Thursday 30 November 2017

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‘I wanted them to play’: Guardiola blames time wasting for Redmond row

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Pep Guardiola was involved in a bizarre confrontation with Nathan Redmond on Wednesday night after Manchester City snatched an injury-time winner to beat Southampton at the Etihad.

Guardiola apologised to referee Paul Tierney for his manic goal celebration when Raheem Sterling scored another sensational late winner to keep City eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

But the animated City boss then became embroiled in a heated exchange with Saints winger Redmond as the two teams left the field, grabbing him around the neck and pushing him in the chest.

Guardiola claimed that he was praising the player, but was clearly unhappy about what he felt was time-wasting by Mauricio Pellegrino’s side.

‘I was telling Nathan Redmond how good he is at the end,’ Guardiola told the BBC. 'Southampton have some super talented players, Redmond is so good one against one. Last season he destroyed us here.

'But they didn’t want to play, they were time wasting from the ninth minute. I just wanted them to play.

'It was happening 50 years ago. Their striker was marking our defensive midfielder so it was 10 men behind the ball all the time.

'They didn’t want to play, and that’s very difficult to face. We didn’t concede any counter-attacks just set-pieces.

‘The goal was amazing because there was no space to attack. They came to defend and waste time.’

Guardiola could not contain his delight when Sterling curled in a stunning winner with almost the last kick of the game to break Southampton’s hearts after Oriol Romeu had cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne’s opener.

It keeps City well clear of Manchester United at the top of the table and set a new club record of 12 straight league wins.

Guardiola was spoken to by Tierney after he ran onto the pitch, punching the air and celebrating with his players – including Benjamin Mendy who is recuperating from a ruptured cruciate ligament.

‘I said I apologise because I couldn’t control it,’ he added. 'I was so happy. I ran behind Raz but wasn’t quick enough. He (the referee) told me, “you can’t do that” and I said “I know”.

'I think all the supporters have had some special moments and in the last second we enjoyed the situation. You have to celebrate it.

‘It was a good moment in the locker-room, all the staff were so happy, it makes sense to enjoy our celebration.’

Guardiola paid tribute to Sterling who followed up his late winners against Feyenoord last week and Huddersfield on Sunday with another sensational strike to claim his 13th goal in 19 games this season.

‘He’s full of confidence,’ said the City boss. 'I know him. You have to discover the pleasure of winning games. The guys who score are full of joy and the goal was amazing.

'I said many times, he’s young but he’s making steps. Before he was shy and didn’t believe, now he can do it.

‘His team-mates give him confidence. You have to have the personality and put the ball there. It was a fantastic goal, really fantastic.’

Southampton boss Pellegrino was puzzled that the referee decided to add on five minutes at the end of the game, but did not object to City’s exuberant celebrations.

He said: 'I didn’t see too many actions to delay the game.

‘Every team and person celebrates. It’s really frustrating for us but I am happy for them. We have to digest this pain.’

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 30/11/2017 03:14:43

| | Pep Guardiola’s reaction to Manchester City’s dramatic win…and why he confronted Nathan RedmondIRISHINDEP |
| | What Man City coach Pep Guardiola said to Nathan RedmondMANEVNEWS |

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Sourced from London Evening Standard article

Guardiola explains furious full-time outburst after late Man City win

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Pep Guardiola claimed he was simply telling Nathan Redmond ‘how good he is’ after screaming at the Southampton player following Manchester City’s dramatic 2-1 win on Wednesday.

Raheem Sterling scored a dramatic winner as City maintained their winning run to once again go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

The England forward - who netted a late clincher at Huddersfield on Sunday - curled home a superb injury-time strike for the Premier League leaders at the Etihad Stadium.

Saints had looked set to become the first team to deny City a victory since August when Oriol Romeu cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne’s deflected free-kick 15 minutes from time.

But Sterling, who is developing a habit of scoring late, had other ideas with his 13th goal of the campaign securing City’s 12th successive league win and a club record 19th straight in all competitions.

That goal sparked wild celebrations from Guardiola and his team, and there were unusual scenes after the final whistle as the coach shouted at Redmond as the pair departed the pitch.

Speaking to Match of the Day after the game, Guardiola explained: "I was telling Nathan Redmond how good he is at the end.

"Southampton have some super talented players, Redmond is so good one against one.

“But they didn’t’ want to play, they were time wasting from the ninth minute. I just wanted them to play.”

Regarding the nature of the result, Guardiola added: "It was an astonishing end to the game. It means a lot. They had 10 guys in the box, it was so complicated to attack them.

"They had chances in the first half, all the teams are better than us at set-pieces. They are stronger than us but we kept patient.

"At the end our momentum kept going, Raheem scores a fantastic goal.

"What impresses the most is the heart with which they play. What happened in the locker room was amazing.

“You have to enjoy these situations, you never know what will happen in the future. We want to win the league but you have to celebrate when you score in the last breath like that.”

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Sourced from Sky Sports article

Mauricio Pellegrino ‘proud’ of Southampton display against Manhester City

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Southampton can take a number of positives despite losing 2-1 to Premier League leaders Manchester City on Wednesday night, according to manager Mauricio Pellegrino.

The Saints had appeared to be on course for a well-deserved point at the Etihad until Raheem Sterling’s stunning 96th-minute winner broke their hearts.

However, the Argentine thinks his players can take a lot going forward from the way they frustrated the runaway league leaders.

“It is difficult to digest when you play 99.9 per cent of the game more or less in the way we planned before,” said Pellegrino. "But they have a lot of quality, they do not need too much to score.

"They scored an amazing goal and we have to congratulate the opponent. And we have to be proud in the way we competed against a really, really good side, and maybe at this moment one of the best teams in the world.

“But at the same time we have to use this game as were really competitive and thinking about the future we can play against stronger teams, and we can be really, really difficult for them.”

The visitors made life uncomfortable throughout for City with their set plays and were unfortunate not to be ahead at the break after Wesley Hoedt’s header hit the bar, a tactic Pellegrino said they had been working on in the build-up to the match.

“We knew that maybe with set plays we could have our chance, we were really close to scoring,” he said. "But in football, it is about efficiency and in the end, we do not have anything. But we can be proud with how we played.

“We wanted to close the passes into the corridor, they are really clever to play in this corridor against the back four. And for this reason we decided to play with one defender more because anyway you will defend deep. And more or less we were 99.9 per cent right and we were a little bit unlucky.”

Overall, though, Pellegrino thought Southampton could take a lot from the contest as they head into Sunday’s showdown with south coast rivals Bournemouth.

“Especially the mentality of my team,” he said. “We are really disappointed with the result, I’m really proud how we played. And I repeat, playing in this way with this spirit, maybe we will improve.”

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Pellegrino’s pride in valiant Saints

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Saints proved a tough nut to crack for the table-toppers, who were unable to break the deadlock until after half-time.

Oriol Romeu cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne’s deflected free kick to leave Saints on the verge of ending City’s 18-match winning run, only for Raheem Sterling to score in the last minute of added time to extend the sequence.

“All of us are disappointed in the dressing room because I think we did a really, really hard job for 95 minutes,” Pellegrino said.

“In one small detail they scored the goal that made the difference.

“It’s part of our job and part of our life. We can be proud of how we played and how we suffered, because we were really competitive.

“That’s something that is one of my goals with this club – to be really competitive regardless of the opponent or the pitch.

“This is something completely different to having players with quality.

“To be competitive is about spirit and about character, which is what we had and I am really proud of my players.”

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

90 in 90: Man City 2-1 Saints

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Video: Pellegrino proud of players’ efforts

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Highlights: Man City 2-1 Saints

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 30/11/2017 05:15:16

| | Pep Guardiola explains Nathan Redmond incident | Goal.comGOALDOTCOM |
| | Pep Guardiola’s reaction to Manchester City’s dramatic win…and why he confronted Nathan RedmondIRISHINDEP |
| | Guardiola: I was telling Redmond how good he isFOURFOURTWO |
| | Pep Guardiola’s reaction to Manchester City’s dramatic win…and why he confronted Nathan RedmondIRISHINDEP |
| | WATCH: Football fans confused by Pep Guardiola’s interaction with Nathan Redmond after full timeJOECOUK |
|

| Southampton suffer heartbreak defeat at Manchester CitySBNATIONSTMARYSMUSINGS |
| | Our man of the match: Manchester City (A)READSOUTHAMPTON |

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Sourced from Sky Sports article

PL Saves of Round

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Watch a selection of the best saves from the latest round of Premier League action, including Jordan Pickford, Fraser Forster and Heurelho Gomes.

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Gallery: Man City 2-1 Saints

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View the best of our images from the Etihad Stadium where Oriol Romeu’s strike was cancelled out by Raheem Sterling’s last-minute winner for Manchester City.

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Sourced from ESPN FC article

Man City’s Guardiola: I couldn’t control myself after Raheem Sterling goal

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MANCHESTER – Pep Guardiola said he couldn’t control his emotions after jumping on the pitch to celebrate Raheem Sterling’s 96th-minute winner in the victory over Southampton on Wednesday, and then explained his chat with Nathan Redmond afterward.

City maintained their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over the Saints and extended their club-record winning streak to 19 games.

Guardiola was also seen having an odd exchange with Southampton winger Redmond after the full-time whistle, gesticulating at the player, but said he was telling him what a good player he was.

“It was a good night, I think all the supporters create some special moments tonight and in the last second we enjoyed the situation,” the City boss told a new conference.

"You have to celebrate it. It was a good moment in the last minute, in the locker room, all the staff so happy it makes sense to enjoy our celebration. It makes sense, our job to enjoy these sort of situations.

“I said [to the referee] I apologise because i couldn’t control it, I was so happy like all the fans and players. I ran after Raz but I’m not quick enough but we were so happy.”

Explaining his comments to Redmond, he added: “I said what good a player he is. Last season he destroyed us here. I didn’t know him last season and didn’t realise how good he is. Today he could not attack because he defends all the time.”

Southampton looked like they would snatch a point after Oriol Romeu had equalised Kevin De Bruyne’s fortunate opener that was sliced in by defender Virgil van Dijk.

Sterling had the ball into the net, moments before his winner but the goal was ruled out for a foul on goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

But he curled in a brilliant strike from the edge of the box seconds later for his third late winner in City’s last three games.

“[Raheem] is a winning player, winning games,” Guardiola added. "Before it was not like this now he’s full of confidence,

"I spoke to him last season many times, you have to discover the pleasure for yourself to win games – to score those goals.

"The guys who score are full of joy. The goal was amazing because there’s no space.

“Today it was difficult, we’ll see what happens about the future and we have to adapt because there were 10 players in the box and no space to attack. They don’t want to play, they want to defend all the time, time-wasting.”

Southamtpon boss Mauricio Pellegrino admitted it was a painful defeat after his side played so well and had other chances with Wesley Hoedt hitting the bar and Maya Yoshida wasting another good opportunity.

“It’s really frustrating for us but we have to congratulate the opponent,” the Argentine said. "It’s painful now but we have to accept it.

"We competed well from the beginning till the end, we did 99 percent of the things in the plan we prepared.

"We knew we had to be more patient and make most of set plays. We defended more than normal against a difficult side, one of the best teams in the world at the moment. But I think we can be proud.

“I am proud of my players because we were really competitive. That is one of my goals at this club, to have a group of players with quality, no matter the pitch or the opponent.”

Jonathan is ESPN FC’s Manchester City correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @jonnysmiffy.

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Sourced from Sky Sports article

Manchester City 2-1 Southampton

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Raheem Sterling scored a dramatic winner as Manchester City maintained their winning run with a last-gasp 2-1 defeat of Southampton.

The England ft Horward - who netted a late clincher at Huddersfield on Sunday - curled home a superb injury-time strike for the Premier League leaders at the Etihad Stadium.

Saints had looked set to become the first team to deny City a victory since August when Oriol Romeu cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne’s deflected free-kick 15 minutes from time.

But Sterling, who is developing a habit of scoring late, had other ideas with his 13th goal of the campaign securing City’s 12th successive league win and a club record 19th straight in all competitions.

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Manchester City 2-1 Southampton

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Highlights of Manchester City’s win over Southampton in the Premier League.

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Six Premier League talking points from Wednesday’s games

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We round up the top talking points from a frantic night of Premier League action on Wednesday.

A thrilling evening which saw 19 goals in six games was capped by Raheem Sterling’s stunning stoppage-time winner for Manchester City against Southampton at the Etihad Stadium.

Elsewhere, there were big wins for Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton, who had newly-appointed manager Sam Allardyce watching on from the stands, while Chelsea and Burnley claimed narrow victories over Swansea and Bournemouth respectively. Here are six talking points.

Sterling came to Manchester City’s rescue on Wednesday night with yet another dramatic late winner, this time against Southampton at the Etihad Stadium. It was the England international’s ninth Premier League goal of the season and his 13th in all competitions.

Not only that, but the forward has scored the winner in the 84th minute or later in four different competitive games for City this season, including in each of their last three games, proving he is now an absolutely vital member of Pep Guardiola’s table-topping side.

Mesut Ozil was the shining star at the Emirates, as Arsenal somehow turned a nervy encounter into a 5-0 rout of Huddersfield. The German was at the heart of a breath-taking five-minute spell in the second half, assisting Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez before getting on the scoresheet himself.

And having missed the game against Burnley through injury, Ozil clearly picked up where the left off against Tottenham. With the January transfer window beckoning, questions will linger over whether he is putting himself on display to prospective clubs, or proving to Arsenal why he deserves a bumper new deal. Either way, when he is in this mood, it’s a delight to watch.

Some have criticised Antonio Conte for not showing as much emotion this season as he did last year, but his trademark Italian passion shone through on Wednesday, which was a contrast against the near-silent Stamford Bridge crowd.

After protesting with the officials about time wasting, the final straw came in the 43rd minute when Swansea were awarded a goal kick despite the ball coming off Alfie Mawson last, with referee Neil Swarbrick sending him to the stands for the first time in his career. Conte continued to remonstrate with them as he sat behind the dugout before heading down the tunnel and watching the second half from his office.

What happens next in terms of punishment remains to be seen, but Conte said he had apologised after the game, telling Sky Sports: “I have to apologised to him [the fourth official] and the referee. In that moment I was angry but I repeat, I know that is it right to apologise to them. It is not simple sometimes during the game, there is a lot of frustration but at the same time, I think that you can make a mistake and I did.”

He has previous. Last time Wayne Rooney scored from the halfway line, he was helped by some rather questionable goalkeeping from West Ham stopper Adrian. At Goodison Park, while clinching a hat-trick, Rooney went one better.

Everton were actually on the back foot despite leading 2-0. Aaron Cresswell had rattled the crossbar and Manual Lanzini had seen his penalty kick saved by Jordan Pickford. Cometh the hour, cometh the local hero. Joe Hart was stranded after a tackling an onrushing Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and could only watch as the ball sailed over his head and into the net from fully 58 yards.

The trajectory was incredible. What a way to score his first hat-trick since 2012. Contrary to what many people think, it seems Rooney is anything but on the wane.

Fantasy football managers were cursing their luck when Jurgen Klopp left Mohamed Salah on the bench for Liverpool’s trip to Stoke, but they needn’t have worried. The Reds were defending a slender one-goal lead when the Egyptian emerged from the bench, but in the space of just 23 minutes he added two more goals to his tally and changed the complexion of the game completely.

His unstoppable volley from Sadio Mane’s cross showed impeccable technique, and his second goal was a reward for pure persistence, as he chased down a long ball and found himself through on goal. He has now scored 16 goals in just three months at Liverpool. At £34m, he already looks like a bargain.

The Clarets have shown that they are an incredibly competitive team away from home this season. They created a number of chances in the first half against Bournemouth with Chris Wood a constant threat, and it seems they have struck upon the perfect formula for their travels.

Any team would be happy to get a 2-1 win at the Vitality Stadium. They now have 14 away points so far this season, twice as many as they collected in the whole of the last campaign. With such a collection of steady heads and many teams crumbling around them, the organised nature of Burnley could see them take seventh this season.

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 30/11/2017 06:15:36

| | Guardiola lavishes praise on City after last-gasp victoryCITYAM |
| | Super Sterling on the money for Man CityIRISHEXAMINER |
| | Raheem to the rescue again and expect more parking the bus: What We Learned from Man City vs. Southampton – City WatchCITYWATCH |
| | Watch: Raheem Sterling’s last second wonder goal for Manchester City against Southampton – City WatchCITYWATCH |
| | Pep Guardiola struggles to control emotions as City celebrate late winnerBELFASTTELE |

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Sourced from Daily Echo article

Pellegrino: I’m proud of my players

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Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino spoke of his pride after his side’s “painful” defeat against Manchester City at The Etihad.

Oriol Romeu’s equaliser looked to have earned Saints a point before Raheem Sterling’s dramatic late winner.

Pellegrino said: “It’s really frustrating for us but we have to congratulate the opponent. It’s painful now but we have to accept it.

“We competed well from the beginning till the end, we did 99 per cent of the things in the plan we prepared.

“We knew we had to be more patient and make most of set plays. We defended more than normal against a difficult side, one of the best teams in the world at the moment. But I think we can be proud.

“I am proud of my players because we were really competitive. That is one of my goals at this club, to have a group of players with quality, no matter the pitch or the opponent.

“We have to use this experience for the future. We can get a lot of points with this spirit. It was painful for us to concede at the end but we have to learn from this for the next time.”

Pellegrino admitted that Cedric Soares is a doubt for Sunday’s derby against AFC Bournemouth after limping off with a hamstring problem in the latter stages.

He also said he did not see Pep Guardiola remonstrating with Nathan Redmond at the final whistle.

The former Barcelona boss seemed to be protesting at what he perceived to be time wasting.

When asked what he said to Redmond, Guardiola said: “I said what a good player he is. I realised how good he is today but he could not attack because they came to defend.”

Guardiola, who played for Barcelona alongside Pellegrino in the late 1990s, admitted it was difficult for his players to break down his former teammate’s Saints team.

“It was difficult, there was less space and we had to adapt,” he said.

“They came to defend and there was time wasting. They deserved a goal in the first half but we controlled the counter-attacks.

“They had a lot of people behind the ball but we tried to win and we did.”

On the exuberant celebrations that followed Sterling’s goal, he said: “It was a special moment and we enjoyed it. I was so happy.”

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Manchester City 2-1 Southampton: Brave Saints robbed by Sterling’s late goal

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EVEN a world-class performance from Fraser Forster was not enough for Saints on a dramatic night at the Etihad.

The much-maligned goalkeeper will not forget his 100th Saints appearance in a hurry.

Nor will those privileged to witness it.

Forster thwarted the likes of Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne with a succession of breathtaking stops.

He continued to keep his side in the game after Virgil van Dijk’s own goal, before Oriol Romeu silenced the Etihad with a dramatic 75th minute equaliser – only for Sterling to break Saints’ hearts deep into injury time.

On a bitterly cold night in Manchester, Saints’ gutsy performance certainly warmed the cockles.

Pellegrino looked to have outwitted Pep Guardiola, his former Barcelona teammate, before City snatched a 12th successive Premier League victory in the fifth minute of injury time.

You could hardly blame Pellegrino for taking a defensive approach against a City side that had scored 39 goals in winning its previous 11 games.

Pellegrino made five changes to the team that beat Everton 4-1 in selecting three centre-halves for the first time in the league.

Maya Yoshida formed a triumvirate of resilience alongside Van Dijk and Wesley Hoedt.

Mario Lemina, Oriol Romeu, Nathan Redmond and Shane Long were also recalled, while Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse, Dusan Tadic, Sofiane Boufal and Charlie Austin made way.

An early Fabian Delph shot was comfortably saved by Forster, whose athleticism soon came to the fore.

Fernandinho fizzed a 25-yarder just wide, but Saints had chances of their own.

They responded by winning a corner when Kompany cut out Shane Long’s cross from the right.

Bertrand’s flag-kick was flicked on by Maya Yoshida at the near post and Hoedt headed it against the bar from inside the six-yard box.

City broke immediately. Aguero’s shot bounced off the chest of a diving Forster, who saved the follow-up well from Jesus as he dived low to his left.

He soon produced an even better save.

Diving low to his left, his strong left hand withstood Ferandinho’s sidefooter from inside the area.

De Bruyne’s corner was headed over by Aguero and Saints continued to threaten on the counter, with Moraes quick to save at Long’s feet .

As you would expect, City dominated possession. Their probing was mesmerising, but Saints continued to resist.

Yoshida did well to head away a Sterling cross and Forster’s magnificent performance continued. He saved with his feet to keep out Aguero, before watching with relief as the rebound was fired into the sidenetting by Gundogan.

It was goalkeeping of the highest quality and, against one of the best teams on the planet, will have done wonders for Forster’s confidence.

Long hit the deck when Kompany’s arm connected with his face as they challenged for the ball in front of the dug outs.

There was certainly no malice, but there was no doubt City were becoming frustrated as the crowd grew restless.

Saints soon went close again.

Lemina got the better of Kompany and Redmond’s corner was headed down by Van Dijk, before Yoshida volleyed over with the side of an outstretched foot.

Kompany was booked for a foul on Long as ‘Come on City’ echoed around the Etihad.

It was a measure of Saints’ first-half performance that a pitch invader running the full length of the pitch gained the biggest cheer from the City faithful.

But they were soon ahead. De Bruyne’s inswinging free-kick from the left was diverted in at the near post by Van Dijk at the start of the second half.

Moments later, Jesus wriggled free of Yoshida and shot narrowly wide of the far post.

Jesus sent another left-footer narrowly wide and after dispossessing Yoshida a swift one-two with Aguero gave him another chance.

But the brilliant Forster was too good in the one-on-one, flicking the ball away from the Brazilian with an outstretched arm.

He soon bettered that by soaring to his right to keep a ferocious De Bruyne strike out of the top corner, before Aguero headed over the Belgian’s free kick.

Another Forster save kept out Fernandinho but Saints, who drew 1-1 here last season, were still in the game.

Hoedt won a corner from Redmond’s free kick, which Van Dijk headed over.

Ryan Bertrand did brilliantly to get the better of his man before dinking a cross from the byline to the far post. It was controlled by Boufal, who had replaced Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ten minutes earlier.

The Moroccan’s inside ball was struck home by an ecstatic Romeu.

It was no more than Saints deserved.

The Etihad was silenced before boos echoed as Cedric Soares limped off after receiving treatment.

There was plenty more drama during the five minutes of injury time.

Fernandinho was eventually penalised for fouling Forster as he challenged for the ball following a corner. But chaos ensued as the ball was in the net before the whistle was heard.

Hearts were broken when Sterling curled a spectacular winner into the top corner with the last kick of the match.

The Etihad roared its approval. Even a limping Benjamin Mendy, sidelined with an ACL injury, joined in the raucous celebrations.

It was incredibly harsh on Saints, particularly Forster after a performance full of pride, guts and no little passion.

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