Swansea City vs. Manchester City: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Manchester City continued their rich vein of form with a 3-2 victory over Swansea in the Premier League at the Liberty Stadium.

Fernandinho's first-half goal was cancelled out by Wilfried Bony on the stroke of halftime, but second-half efforts from Yaya Toure and Aleksandar Kolarov settled the match.

Bony grabbed a superb consolation strike late on.

City now have eight wins from their last nine Premier League games, the only exception being a draw at Southampton, and their depth without Sergio Aguero is being highlighted as they move up the Premier League table.

The match began in odd fashion when Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel was forced to change shirts to avoid a colour clash with the City away kit. Quite how it had been missed earlier on was anybody's guess, but it did provide comedy as Tremmel battled to get the shirt over his gloves.

Less good news followed for the hosts, however. With their squad stretched thin by injury already, they were hit by a hamstring injury to Pablo Hernandez, who was substituted off early for Roland Lamah.

City cranked into gear, Fernandinho's thunderous low shot through a sea of bodies giving the visitors the lead before the quarter-hour mark.

But Swansea responded, coming out of their shells and creating chances, testing the theory that the Citizens are not the same force on the road as they are at the Etihad.

Bony had the best chances but could not convert them until he nodded in just before the break. His goal was fortunate in that replays showed he was offside when the deep cross came in, but the header itself was expertly taken.

The second half proved a bridge too far for the Swans to keep pace with Manchester City.

Toure fired in his 10th goal of the season early on, while Kolarov marauded forward unchallenged and let fly with a shot that Tremmel could not stop. 

In miserable conditions, the game looked like it was fizzling out, but Bony struck again at the death to set up an intriguing finale.

His low strike from 25 yards was vicious, swerving past a full-stretch Joe Hart, but Manuel Pellegrini's men had enough to protect their win. 

Player	Half-time	Full-time
Substitutes	Half-time	Full-time
Gerhard Tremmel	6	6
Angel Rangel	6	6
Chico Flores	7	6
Ashley Williams	7	6
Ben Davies	6	5
Jonathan de Guzman	8	7
Pablo Hernandez	N/A	N/A
Jonjo Shelvey	7	7
Wayne Routledge	7	6
Jose Canas	6	6
Wilfried Bony	8	8
Roland Lamah	7	7
Alejandro Pozuelo	N/A	6

Player	Half-time	Full-time
Joe Hart	7	7
Aleksandar Kolarov	7	8
Vincent Kompany	7	7
Joleon Lescott	6	7
Pablo Zabaleta	7	6
Fernandinho	8	8
Yaya Toure	8	8
Jesus Navas	7	7
Samir Nasri	6	7
Edin Dzeko	6	6
Alvaro Negredo	6	7
Substitutes	Half-time	Full-time
James Milner	N/A	6
Javi Garcia	N/A	6
Jack Rodwell	N/A	6

Up next

Both clubs turn their attentions to the FA Cup at the weekend. City are away at Blackburn Rovers, while Swansea have a fiendish assignment away at Manchester United.

The Swans are having a tough time in mid-table in the league, especially trying to manage their injury crisis. They meet United at Old Trafford again on January 11.

The Manchester City juggernaut, meanwhile, continues, with a League Cup semifinal against West Ham before a trip to Newcastle United in the league.