Summary West Brom manager Tony Pulis expressed bewilderment over McAuley's dismissal
LONDON (AFP) - Manchester City benefited from a case of mistaken identity as they trimmed Chelsea s lead in the Premier League to three points by beating West Bromwich Albion 3-0 on Saturday.
Bidding to bounce back from their Champions League elimination by Barcelona in mid-week, City were giving a huge helping hand when referee Neil Swarbrick sent off West Brom defender Gareth McAuley after only 89 seconds.
But it was Craig Dawson, West Brom s number 25, who had committed a foul on Wilfried Bony (who then stumbled into number 23 McAuley), and Swarbrick confessed at half-time that he had sent off the wrong player.
"I was too far to see the red card incident. It is the referee s decision," City captain Vincent Kompany told BT Sport. "There was nothing to win today for us. We just had to do a good job and we didn t fail."
Bony made the breakthrough in the 27th minute, gathering a deflected pass from Fernando and hoisting a shot past West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill to claim his first goal in City s colours.
Fernando added a second before half-time, stabbing home after Myhill and Jonas Olsson got in a muddle at a corner.
Both teams hit the woodwork in the second half -- Sergio Aguero and Bony in quick succession for the hosts; Saido Berahino for West Brom -- before David Silva diverted in a shot from City substitute Stevan Jovetic in the 77th minute.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis expressed bewilderment over McAuley s dismissal, saying: "How he gets the lad wrong is just absolutely amazing to me.
"The second goal shouldn t be allowed. Fernando kicked Saido in the face while jumping and it s a decision which leads to the second goal and kills the game."
Victory helped City draw a line beneath last weekend s shock 1-0 loss at struggling Burnley.
But although they are now within sight of Chelsea, Jose Mourinho s side have two games in hand, beginning with a trip to Hull City on Sunday.
Arsenal, four points behind City in third place, visit Newcastle United later on Saturday, while fourth-place Manchester United travel to fifth-place Liverpool in a crunch clash on Sunday.
Saturday s fixtures will also see Dick Advocaat begin his tenure as manager of relegation-threatened Sunderland with a trip to West Ham United.
