- Bentaleb converts two PKs with VAR help
- Otamendi sent off for second yellow
- Sane unleashes late free kick equalizer
- Sterling finds winner five minutes later.
Two goals in the five minutes gave 10-man Manchester City a memorable 3-2 win atSchalke on Wednesday in the first leg of the two sides’ UEFA Champions League Round of 16 encounter.
Leroy Sane’s vicious 85th minute free kick and Raheem Sterling’s 90th minute finish helped offset Nicolas Otamendi’s 68th minute sending off at Veltins-Arena.
Sergio Aguero scored early for Man City, but Nabil Bentaleb converted a pair of penalty kicks to give Schalke a lead which would last for nearly 40 minutes.
The second leg is March 12 at the Etihad Stadium.
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
Man City was in the ascendancy from the start, but Schalke basically handed the visitors their opening goal.
Salif Sane was sleepy in his readiness for a goalkeeper pass, and David Silva made the steal. The Spaniard squared for an Aguero tap-in that was defended slightly better by VAR but stood for 1-0.
Another giveaway provided City with a break, but Raheem Sterling couldn’t manage a shot when played into the left of the box.
City attempted eight shots by the half-hour mark.
Daniel Caligiuri’s left-footed shot from outside the 18 took a turn off Nicolas Otamendi’s arm as the City defender bid to get his arm closer to his body, and VAR awarded a penalty in the 36th minute after a significant wait.
Bentaleb got Ederson going the wrong way for 1-1.
Fernandinho conceded another penalty in the 44th, but would it stand? This one, too, went the route of VAR, but the cameras did nothing. Bentaleb converted for 2-1.
And City went down a man in the 68th minute when Otamendi collected his second yellow card, this time for a foul when Guido Burgstaller cut past him.
American midfielder Weston McKennie was subbed into the match in the 78th minute after a busy night in the midfield.
That’s when City struck. First, Sane hit an impeccable hammer of a free kick home in the 85th minute before Sterling slotted into the far post on the edge of stoppage time.