Aston Villa condemned Manchester City to a sixth defeat in eight Premier League games with a 2-1 win over the reigning champions at Villa Park.
Jhon Duran put Villa in front early in the match, taking advantage of a cautious start from Pep Guardiola's side before Morgan Rogers deservedly doubled the lead midway through the second half. The goalscorers seemed to be a symbol of the speed and strength that City lacked.
Phil Foden scored one goal back in stoppage time, but even that couldn't disguise how poor City were. The win moves Unai Emery's side above them into fifth place in the Premier League, leaving Guardiola's side in sixth place and still wondering if and when this slump will end.
How Villa won
Villa tore into City from the start, John McGinn picking the ball from Josko Gvardiol for Duran to test Stefan Ortega within the first minute. The City goalkeeper had to make two more saves in the opening 100 seconds as Villa set the tone.
Duran's opener was a beautifully worked move after Youri Tielemans spotted the run of Morgan Rogers, the marauding midfielder who unselfishly slotted the ball towards the Colombian striker to score his seventh Premier League goal of the season.
The pattern after that was for City to dominate possession without being much of note, too static and too predictable in their passing. Every time they had the ball it felt like this was just the break before Villa ran at them again.
Duran and Tielemans, in an advanced role, were both excellent, but Rogers was the standout for the way he bullied City, with Foden almost bouncing off him at one point as he desperately tried to keep up with the Villa player.
Time and time again, Rogers picked up the ball on the half turn, held his marker at bay and skipped away from them. Kyle Walker, who came on as a half-time substitute as Guardiola tried in vain to make a change, seemed to age in real time when playing against him.
Guardiola happy for 'exceptional' Rogers
Man City head coach Pep Guardiola speaks at the press conference…
Rogers is of course a former City player and was allowed to leave for Middlesbrough in the summer of last year. Guardiola was full of praise for him, but did give an explanation for the fact that he could not make the breakthrough.
“At that time you had Kevin De Bruyne in his prime, David Silva and Bernardo [Silva]Riyadh [Mahrez]Leroy [Sane] and Raheem [Sterling] and sometimes that is difficult. That's the only reason why [he didn’t get an opportunity].
“In this situation at the moment, of course these types of players would be with us, that's clear, but it just wasn't at the right time.
“I'm happy for him because he's a nice guy. Last season and this season he exploded. I think he's a really top class player. England have another exceptional player.”
Emery on how Villa did it
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery speaks at the press conference…
“The way we started today, scoring a goal, doing a good press, the first five to 10 minutes, getting corners, was very important for the confidence it gave us.
“Then they had two chances to score, we defended so low. We spoke in the dressing room at half-time, the plan was to push them, prevent them from dominating the ball and, secondly, during the build-up, prevent that they were putting pressure on us.” , to get our property.
“We did a better job and stopped them. I think that was the key. We started creating chances and got the goal [second] goal. Our confidence increased, theirs decreased. I thought it was fantastic.”
Asked whether Villa took advantage of Man City's vulnerability…
“Manchester City have a bit of the confidence they normally have. They played fantastic for 30 minutes in the first half. If they score at that moment maybe they will get their confidence back. In the second half it was very different.”
Asked if Villa can finish above Man City this season…
“It's seventeen games, we have 28 points. City are behind us, but usually they will improve in the next games of the next month. We have to keep our mentality and only think about the next game. The next game is Newcastle away .”
Where do Man City go from here?
On paper, things get a little easier for City from here on out, with four of their next five games coming against teams at the bottom of the table, while the other is against mid-table Brentford. But in this form you wouldn't bet a lot of money on it.
City are still unable to cope with the counter-attacks, but equally alarming is the lack of incision in front of goal. “We have scored a goal,” the visiting supporters chanted sarcastically as Foden found the net late on. They don't create enough chances.
Why? While Jack Grealish should have done a lot more, as he was one-on-one with Matty Cash several times throughout the 90 minutes, a lack of movement off the ball is an obvious answer. It was surprising how static City appeared in attack.
Erling Haaland looked isolated and only Foden wanted to run after him. Ilkay Gundogan used to do that, and so did Bernardo Silva, but neither of them are playing well. Kevin De Bruyne remained on the bench, but Guardiola clearly doubts whether there are any solutions.
Given City's long reign, many are reluctant to exclude them from a trademark title suit. But the more pressing question is whether this is the new normal for this group of players. A rebuild is needed. That will take time. And that means more painful days ahead.
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