Mark Clattenburg was given no alternative but to dismiss Milner on 23 minutes. Vincent Kompany needlessly gave the ball away on the halfway line and as Long advanced towards the City area Milner was horribly exposed for pace and hauled him down.
The dismissal lifted Albion, after a surprisingly hesitant start. Graham Dorrans almost found a way through but was denied by Joe Hart at close range while Yacob drilled narrowly wide from 20 yards.
But Mario Balotelli, the first of six cautions, was always a menace and a typically mazy, bewildering run on the left took him past three players to carve out an opportunity from nothing but his shot was kept out by Ben Foster. He was always on the edge, however, and Clattenburg gave him a final warning before half-time after another foul, this time on Long.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, City were always in the game and Foster was required to save impressively from Carlos Tevez early in the second-half. Yaya Toure then wasted a chance from four yards on the hour before City were convinced they should have been awarded a penalty when Marc-Antoine Fortune appeared to handle, though he seemed to be just outside the area.
Balotelli's inevitable substitution came on 64 minutes but this time there were no fireworks, with the forward even offering his hand to his manager in the dug-out. Any hopes of a result looked to have fizzled away for City three minutes later, though.
Peter Odemwingie, a substitute, chanced his arm from 25 yards out and his tame shot fortuitously fell into the path of Long, who diverted the ball into the bottom corner.
But Mancini's decision to introduce Dzeko earned an instant reward, with the Bosnia international adding to his midweek goal against Lithuania by heading home Tevez's free kick. And he pounced in added time to claim a second successive win, sweeping home Sergio Aguero's cross.
WBA (4-2-3-1): Foster; Tamas, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Yacob, Mulumbu; Fortune, Morrison (Gera 72), Dorrans (Odemwingie 63); Long (Lukaku 82). Subs (not used): Daniels (gk), Popov, Rosenberg, Jara Reyes. Booked: Long, Tamas, Yacob, Fortune.
Man City (4-2-3-1): Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, Barry (Dzeko 79); Nasri, Yaya Toure, Balotelli (Aguero 64); Tevez (Kolarov 83). Subs (not used): Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Sinclair, Kolo Toure. Sent off: Milner Booked: Balotelli, Toure
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
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