TheCable

Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho played only the last seven minutes of Manchester City’s away league clash with Stoke City, but it was his assist that helped Nolito confirm victory for Pep Guardiola’s side.

City were comfortably leading the game through two Sergio Aguero goals but Stoke threatened to climb back into the game when Bojan krkic scored a penalty midway through the second half after Raheem Sterling prevented Ryan Shwcross from getting on the end of a corner kick.

But with four minutes left of regulation time — just three minutes after he came on — Iheanacho worked the ball past two Stoke defenders before passing the ball to a teammate. When he received it back, he rounded goalkeeper Shay Given. However, with the ball to his weaker right foot, the angle acutely narrow and two defenders recovering to block the goal mouth, Iheanacho squared the ball to the better-placed Nolito, and the former Celta Vigo striker made no mistake from close range to move the scoreline to 3-1.

With the game firmly in City’s hands, there was still enough time for Nolito, himself a substitute, to grab his second goal of the game and City’s fourth on the dot of 90 minutes, after he was set up a second time deservedly by Sterling, who — aside his penalty foul — put in a sterling performance all day.