Manchester City 2-1 Swansea: Late drama as Kelechi Iheanacho deflects home winner

Kelechi Iheanacho's stoppage time deflection snatched a dramatic 2-1 win for Manchester City over Swansea, and moved the home side top of the Premier League table on Saturday afternoon.

Wilfried Bony opened the scoring against his former club after 26 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, heading home from Jesus Navas' corner for his fifth goal in his last four matches in this fixture.

Gylfi Sigurdsson had a goal controversially ruled out with five minutes to play after Swans caretaker boss Alan Curtis had brought on Bafetimbi Gomis, and the substitute striker equalised in the 90th minute, beating Joe Hart with a fine strike at his near post.

But there was late heartbreak for the interim manager as Yaya Toure weaved his way into the box two minutes later, and his deflected effort looped up off Iheanacho and over a helpless Lukasz Fabianski to hand City the three points.

The victory puts City top, with Leicester to play Chelsea on Monday Night Football, while Swansea drop to 16th with one win from their last 12 league games.

Each side made three changes as both looked to bounce back from disappointing defeats last weekend, with Curtis, who replaced the departed Garry Monk on Wednesday, opting to play Sigurdsson through the middle with Gomis on the bench.

They started the brighter in pouring rain, and should have taken the lead through Wayne Routledge after just five minutes. The Swans winger shrugged off the challenge of Nicolas Otamendi and latched onto a fine pass from Jack Cork, but City 'keeper Hart spread himself well to keep the score level.

The away side went close again through Sigurdsson ten minutes later, after more fine play from Routledge. His clever movement shed poor marking from Gael Clichy, but Sigurdsson failed to beat Hart from just inside the penalty box after Routledge's low cross picked him out.

City's first chance fell to Bony, but the striker swept his shot straight at Fabianski following good work from David Silva down the left, and Swansea were left to rue their missed opportunities when Bony made them pay shortly after, heading past Fabianski from close range.

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Jesus Navas had done well in the build-up, cutting past Neil Taylor before his goal-bound effort was deflected over by Ashley Williams.

Williams lost Bony from Navas' resulting delivery, and the City striker made no mistake with a simple header for his third league goal of the season, and first since mid-October. Navas had been quiet prior to the assist, the 27th of his City career, but that total moves him level with Silva as City's top creator since his debut in August 2013.

Swansea immediately had a chance to level the score, but Andre Ayew's powerful header from Sigurdsson's set-piece was a yard over the bar. City ended the half on top, though, and an alert Fabianski denied an onrushing Raheem Sterling after a neat improvised pass from Toure almost put the City attacker on goal.

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Toure forced Fabianski into a comfortable save from a free-kick six minutes after the break, before Hart twice kept out Sigurdsson as Swansea pushed hard for an equaliser.

The first stop was the better of the two, Hart smothering the midfielder's strike from six yards. Sigurdsson had looked to back-heel into the path of Ayew, but the ball bounced back to him and his side-foot effort looked like an equaliser before Hart's intervention.

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Bacary Sagna then went into the book for a high challenge on Routledge on the hour mark, and Sigurdsson's free-kick initially wrong-footed Hart before the England 'keeper recovered to palm clear.

Swansea continued to press and the visitors had the ball in the net as the game moved into the final ten minutes, but referee Bobby Madley disallowed Sigurdsson's fine finish for a foul on Hart in the build-up.

Sigurdsson had played through Gomis, and the substitute charged on goal, only for Hart to punch clear and into the path of the Swansea midfielder, who swept home, but the whistle had already gone.

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Gomis' reaction header moments later had Hart back-pedalling as City's goal came under ever greater threat, before the Frenchman levelled the score in the 90th minute. Surging onto Fernandez's through ball, Gomis held off the challenge of Mangala and fired past the City 'keeper at his near post, sparking jubilant scenes on the Swans bench.

That joy was short-lived, however, as just two minutes later City were back ahead, and in fortunate fashion too.

Toure weaved through several challenges into the Swansea box down the right, and his left-foot effort stuck the back of Iheanacho and over Fabianski to condemn the visitors to their fifth defeat in their last six games. 

Charlie Nicholas' reaction

"Swansea were the better team. But it's a slice of luck. Joe Hart made at least four or five top class saves in pressured situations. It was Hart that kept them in the game.

"But they never looked up for it from kick-off. They were all holding each other, they were cold, and the look on their face was that they didn't want to be here, and that's the way they played.

"When Swansea equalised you thought 'justice', they deserved it. Alan Curtis is sitting there with the biggest grin you've ever seen, and understandably so.

"But they are a jammy, jammy side tonight, City. Otamendi and Mangala struggled, because they had Routledge in between them. They couldn't decide who was going to mark him, there was no communication between the two of them.

"Sterling taken off at half-time, Silva taken off in the second half, they don't look like winning the title at all, but they've got three points."

Player ratings

Manchester City: Hart (6), Sagna (5), Otamendi (6), Mangala (5), Clichy (6), Toure (6), Fernandinho (6), Navas (6), Silva (6), Sterling (5), Bony (7)

Subs used: Delph (6), De Bruyne (6), Iheanacho (7)

Swansea: Fabianski (6), Rangel (6), Fernandez (7), Williams (6), Taylor (6), Britton (6), Cork (6), Ki (6), Sigurdsson (7), Routledge (7), Ayew (6)

Subs: Montero (6), Barrow (6), Gomis (7)

Man of the match: Wilfried Bony