Bournemouth vs. Manchester City: Score, Reaction from 2017 Premier League Match

Raheem Sterling netted a winner deep into injury time to help Premier League title hopefuls Manchester City beat Bournemouth 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. 

However, Sterling was also shown a red card by referee Mike Dean for going into the crowd during a wild celebration in the aftermath of the goal.

The Cherries had taken the lead courtesy of a spectacular volley from Charlie Daniels in the first half. City soon hit back thanks to Gabriel Jesus, starting up front instead of Sergio Aguero, who was surprisingly dropped to the bench by manager Pep Guardiola.

The Spaniard's blushes were spared, though, when Sterling pounced in the seventh minute of injury time.

The major team news from City saw Aguero dropped to the bench, while Benjamin Mendy made his first start since arriving from AS Monaco as the most expensive defender in world football earlier this summer.

The Premier League's official Twitter account confirmed the Citizens' reshuffled lineup:

There was also a first league start for Bournemouth's new striker Jermain Defoe:

Things started at a frenetic pace, with the home side snapping into challenges and making the contest a physical one. To their credit, the Cherries also showed quality in possession, moving the ball quickly down the flanks.

Bournemouth's bright start was rewarded on 13 minutes when Daniels arrowed a terrific half-volley into the top corner. Sky Sports Statto relayed an image of the fantastic strike:

City were behind for just eight minutes, though, as their class in possession eventually told. David Silva pushed a terrific pass through for Gabriel, and Aguero's replacement toe-poked the ball beyond Cherries goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

As WhoScored.com pointed out, Gabriel has made a habit of providing contributions in the final third during his brief time at City:

City bossed the play after the equaliser, passing the ball effortlessly between the lines. Meanwhile, Bournemouth were lucky not to go down to 10 men when Nathan Ake tripped Gabriel with the striker clean through on goal.

More fortune came the Cherries way when Steve Cook's heavy challenge on Gabriel went unpunished.

Bournemouth fought their way back into the game after the break and would have been ahead on the hour had Joshua King not struck the woodwork. Squawka Football showed how many problems King was causing the visitors:

Bournemouth's resurgence finally prompted City manager Pep Guardiola to bring Aguero on in place of Mendy's one-time Monaco team-mate Bernardo Silva.

Yet the change did little to force the breakthrough for City. It was looking like a heroic rearguard from Bournemouth deep into injury time until Sterling scrambled the ball over from inside the box.

Sterling had netted the equaliser in the 1-1 home draw against Everton on Monday, but this goal proved far more important, despite the red card that followed.

More dropped points would have raised troubling questions about City's title credentials, even at this early stage of the season. Instead, Sterling's late show means Guardiola's men are showing ample grit to go along with their flair.