‘Maybe we should not play with fans’: Guardiola lashes out at Raheem Sterling's red card

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola questioned why Raheem Sterling had been sent off after scoring a 97th-minute winner to earn his side a 2-1 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Sterling scored with a deflected shot deep into stoppage time at the Vitality Stadium and celebrated by running into the away section, for which referee Mike Dean showed him a second yellow card.

“I do not understand the decision,” Guardiola said.

“If you cannot celebrate with the fans, tell me the reason why. Maybe we should not play with fans.”

Having seen his side drop points in a 1-1 draw at home to Everton on Monday, Guardiola’s relief was evident as he celebrated Sterling’s winner with his coaching staff.

“Winning in the last minute is always special,” said Guardiola, whose team won 2-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion in their opening league fixture.

“It was a tough game. It is always complicated against Bournemouth. They play long balls, balls into the channels and play set-pieces, but we got into the game.

“We tried, our finishing was not good, but we are there.”

Bournemouth had taken a 13th-minute lead through a stupendous Charlie Daniels shot, which cannoned into the net off the crossbar from wide on the left.

Gabriel Jesus, preferred to Sergio Aguero as City’s lone striker, equalised shortly after.

Daniels was aggrieved that Sterling’s winning goal had arrived in the seventh minute of stoppage time after the fourth official indicated only five minutes of additional time would be played.

“There was only five minutes of added-on time, so ask the referee why we played seven,” he told BBC Sport.

“Then in the lead-up to the goal, he awarded a free-kick which was a perfectly timed tackle by Lys Mousset.

“It was gutting for us to concede after that and I would like to find out where he got that extra time from.”