Raheem Sterling capped a stunning 3-2 comeback win for ten-man Manchester City in the first-leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Schalke 04.
Sergio Aguero gave Pep Guardiola’s side an early lead after 18 minutes, when a calamitous pass from Schalke keeper Rolf Fahrmann led to Salif Sane squandering possession on the edge of his own box.
David Silva pounced on the defender’s sloppy first touch and set up Aguero who finished calmly.
But 20 minutes later the game was clouded by controversy as Daniel Caligiuri’s powerful goalbound shot struck Nicolas Otamendi on the arm.
The Argentinian had attempted to move out of the way but after three minutes’ of tenuous deliberation, the video referee awarded the penalty to Schalke, which was scored by Nabil Bentaleb.
Moments later, Schalke won another penalty as Fernandinho brought down Sane, with Bentaleb scoring from the spot again.
But in the second half, City pulled off a remarkable and unlikely turnaround. First Leroy Sane, on as a substitute, scored a stunning free-kick against his former club in the 78th minute to equalise.
And then, in the dying moments of the game, Sterling took advantage of Bastian Oczipka’s mistake to score the decisive winner.
