Manchester City could count themselves extremely fortunate not to have conceded a first half goal against Bournemouth on Monday night.In an entertaining clash on the south coast, Raheem Sterling initially gave Pep Guardiola's side the lead with a strike from close range, having hit the post just minutes before.And although Willy Cabellero in the City goal had been rarely tested, the visitors nearly went into the interval with the scores level.In arguably the biggest talking point of the first half, Josh King and many of those watching on at the Vitality Stadium thought the hosts had pulled level when the Cherries' forward was found unmarked in the box.King's one-touch finish past Cabellero looked like a perfectly good goal at first, however, it was only his immediate muted celebrations that suggested it had been disallowed.Like everyone else, our first suspicions was that King was offside when the ball was played in from the right-hand side.But there was a slight problem, the assistant referee hadn't actually flagged - prompting even more confusion.It eventually became clear that referee Neil Swarbrick had ruled the goal out because King pulled back John Stones before the cross was delivered to get ahead of the centre-back.Replays showed it was actually perfectly good decision and yet no one knows exactly how Swarbrick came to make that call.As you can see in the video below, the official is actually looking at the ball when the offence is committed so how he knew Stones had been pulled back is anyone's guess.It certainly had a few people on Twitter left feeling puzzled. Here are some of the best tweets:

Guess it shouldn't really matter how referees make their decisions, as long as they get them right.

It won't make Bournemouth fans feel any better, though, as the Cherries continue to struggle in 2017.

Eddie Howe's side are yet to win since the turn of the year and appear to be getting ever closer to the relegation zone with each passing week.

They were also hit by injuries to Simon Francis and Jack Wilshere in the opening period, two players who will be crucial in their fight to stay in the Premier League.