Man City 2-1 SwanseaHome team scorersFernando Gabriel Jesus 11
Fernando Gabriel Jesus 90 +1:42
Away team scorersGylfi Sigurdsson 81
This came close to being the same old unwanted story for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Until Gabriel Jesus’s 92nd-minute winner it seemed yet again an inability to finish sides off plus problematic defending would cost them.
First half brilliant, second half not: this was the pattern for Manchester City in a match they should have secured before the break. Instead, as with the 1-1 draws with Everton, Southampton and Middlesbrough in consecutive outings in the autumn, Guardiola came close to ruing yet another three points that got away.
When Gylfi Sigurdsson collected in midfield and ran forward there was an inevitability about the equaliser that followed when he pulled the trigger on 81 minutes. Now came a late rush for a winner and the backbone Manchester City displayed should be applauded.
As the contest opened Leroy Sane gave Swansea City a first scare, motoring along the left, pinging the ball onto Jesus’s foot but he scooped over.
This presaged a period of incessant Manchester City pressure.
Alfie Mawson tangled with Jesus in the area and Mike Dean waved the penalty appeal off, which appeared correct from the referee. David Silva swung in a corner from the left and Swansea scrambled away.
Then came the opener. Fernandinho was positioned at right-back by his manager and the left-field thinking was about to draw the best dividend by igniting the attack that led to the opener. The Brazilian scampered down his flank and put in a cross that a panicked visiting defence hooked out for a corner. From the ensuing play, Silva eventually wriggled into the area and aimed the ball at Raheem Sterling. He could not finish but Jesus did, with a volley for a second goal in two outings.
This, again, justified Guardiola’s thinking. After stating Jesus and Sergio Agüero could operate together the head coach decided the Swans were not the opposition for this as the Catalan again left the Argentinian on the bench.
This meant the XI chosen showed two changes from the midweek 4-0 win at West Ham United. In came Fernandinho and Gaël Clichy and out went Bacary Sagna and Nicolás Otamendi. Along with Jesus, Willy Caballero also retained his place as Guardiola decided Claudio Bravo needed more time out.
Manchester City’s rocket-fuelled start meant at this stage Juliet Bravo might have sufficed in the goalkeeper’s jersey. Time and again blue shirts came at Swansea with frightening pace and intent and all Paul Clement’s team could do was hang in there.
Yaya Touré’s revival from outcast to pivotal first-choice is one of the season’s subplots. On Friday Guardiola hailed how the 33-year-old just loves to play the game. After 22 minutes came the latest reminder as the Ivorian fired a peach of a 20-yard free-kick at Lukasz Fabianski’s top right corner and the Swansea goalkeeper pulled off a fingertip save.
In the technical area Guardiola was a swirl of emotion. Pleasure mixed with frustration as he watched Sterling dance down the right and skim the ball in to the danger area and it yield only a corner. From this, Silva’s delivery found Touré but his first-time shot was spooned wide. Next it was Sané’s turn to bewitch-then-disappoint as the German executed a slick one-two with Silva only to dribble the ball out for a goal-kick.
This was attack-attack-attack with no end product. A dazzling short corner that involved Kevin De Bruyne interchanging passes with Silva closed with the Belgian failing to score. From the next De Bruyne corner Touré was found and he blazed at Fabianski, who smothered the ball.
As the half moved towards interval Manchester City faded a touch and Swansea at last spent time in their territory. This was the concern for Guardiola: that Clement’s men could yet mount a smash-and-grab.
Guardiola ended the period chatting to Lee Mason, the fourth official, after Sterling was booked for diving over Fabianski’s leg as his manager appeared to believe a penalty might have been given.
What Guardiola surely told all his players at the break was they had to be more cut-throat. Yet the start of the second half Swansea pinned them back.
Caballero made a show-stopping save by flinging himself high and to the right to repel Sigurdsson. From the corner Manchester City were shaky and there was relief when the ball came to Jack Cork and the captain blasted over.
Manchester City’s response was to shift up-field and nearly benefit from a slice of luck when Sané’s cross became a shot that hit a post but there was no second goal.
This proved a rare foray forward, though. If Swansea were not quite as relentless as Manchester City’s first-half effort they were close. As the hour mark passed Guardiola wore the look of a man who has seen this all before. Swansea snapped and harried, then hurtled towards Cabellero’s goal. When Sigurdsson drove in a corner from the right Alfie Mawson rose unchallenged and should have beat the keeper but his header was wide.
A lull ensued that was broken when Manchester City went close via Sterling and Aleksandar Kolarov. The sense they were just not finishing Swansea off strengthened after Silva dawdled and allowed time for a block on his shot and Guardiola wheeled away in fury.
The emotion deepened with Sigurdsson’s intervention. Now, Guardiola threw on Agüero but the last-ditch heroics came from Jesus.
Guardian
