Manchester City remain level on points with arch-rivals Manchester United and six adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side headed to the West Midlands unbeaten across their last nine fixtures in all competitions, but a solitary strike from Matty Cash proved to be the difference in a match that saw Erling Haaland draw a blank for just the second time this season.
City started brightly at Villa Park, with the ball being worked into promising wide areas that lacked a more pinpoint delivery. The hosts did, however, grow into the game and saw Ollie Watkins’ movement pose plenty of problems to City’s high defensive line, though the England international’s uncharacteristic struggles in the final third continued as he failed to make the most of opportunities that came his way.
Cash endured no such issues when breaking the deadlock in the 19th minute. Bernardo Silva and Haaland failed to close the Villa full-back quickly enough on the edge of the box, allowing him to drift onto his left foot from 20 yards out and crash an effort into the bottom corner.
Haaland fired a tame shot at Emi Martinez as City sought an immediate equaliser, while Josko Gvardiol did Morgan Rogers a favour when making little of an apparent shove inside the penalty area, but Villa came closest to a second before the break as captain John McGinn fizzed another strike from distance narrowly past the post.
Haaland has 24 goals for club and country this season, with Tottenham the only team to have kept him out before running into Villa, but the prolific Norwegian was surprisingly quiet as City lacked an attacking spark as a collective. They were unable to turn possession into something more tangible, with Villa prepared to sit deep and break out on the counter.
Savinho almost forced a leveller on the hour mark, but his low drive from seven yards out was somehow flicked over the crossbar by Pau Torres. At the other end, former City academy star Jadon Sancho forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a double save, before Haaland had a goal disallowed for offside and painfully collided with the post as Villa held on.
GOAL rates Manchester City's players from Villa Park…
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Gianluigi Donnarumma (5/10):
Could do nothing about the goal, with those in front of him failing to close Cash quickly enough. Happy to act as a sweeper keeper and displayed impressive reflexes to keep Sancho out, having caused himself problems when palming into the winger’s path.
Matheus Nunes (4/10):
Not a natural full-back despite being asked to fill in there on a regular basis. Villa would have expected Sancho to pose the Portugal international more problems, having slipped beyond him with ease at one stage.
Ruben Dias (5/10):
Left isolated with the lively Watkins at times, particularly in the first half, leading to him chasing back towards his own goal more often than he would have liked. City’s high press was beaten too easily far too often, leaving their defensive unit exposed.
John Stones (4/10):
Stepped into midfield at every opportunity, leaving City with three at the back. Is comfortable on the ball, but was unable to make Guardiola’s side tick. Was given a tough time by the movement of Watkins.
Josko Gvardiol (5/10):
Always encouraged to get forward, but that can leave space behind. Could have made more of a push from Rogers in the first-half that would have given VAR a big penalty call to make, but offered no appeal.
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Tijjani Reijnders (5/10):
Capable of driving through midfield with the ball, but needs to make better decisions when pushing on. Fired one wayward shot well off target when a pass should have been made. Booked for a clumsy challenge on Watkins.
Phil Foden (5/10):
Has enjoyed filling a central playmaking post this season, but was unable to pull the strings on this occasion. Had one well struck second-half shot blocked and struggled to find space between the lines. Booked when chasing back to stop a Villa counter.
Bernardo Silva (4/10):
Made a bright start as he drifted wide from his central berth and found pockets of space. His influence waned from there, with the Portuguese unable to impose himself on proceedings. Was taken off as Guardiola sought inspiration from the bench.
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Savinho (5/10):
Boasts quick feet and is full of running, but lacks end product. Got into plenty of promising positions, but his final ball let him down. Picked up a yellow card for a reckless tackle on Rogers and failed to hit the net with two second-half strikes that struck shirts and boots in claret and blue.
Oscar Bobb (4/10):
City were unable to get him on the ball in areas where he could hurt Villa. His most notable contributions early on came when tracking back to help defend. Came as no surprise when he was replaced midway through the second half.
Erling Haaland (4/10):
Had more touches in his own box than Villa’s during a quiet first half – with his only sight of goal coming when opening up his body too much and firing straight at Martinez. Barely had a kick after the break, with his one notable contribution seeing a close-range goal chalked off after Marmoush drifted offside in the build up.
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Jeremy Doku (5/10):
Always full of direct running, which ensured that Cash was forced to sit much deeper. Got to the byline on a couple of occasions, but was unable to drill a dangerous cross into the box.
Nico Gonzalez (4/10):
Collected a yellow card for a needless challenge on Digne, and snapped into at least one more that left him walking a disciplinary tightrope. Finished the game bloodied and bruised.
Nico O’Reilly (5/10):
Caught ball watching shortly after being introduced, which almost proved costly, but made amends and was allowed to surge forward from left-back as he overlapped beyond Doku.
Rayan Cherki (5/10):
Brought on to add more creativity to City’s midfield, but was unable to get into the game. Will expect more from himself.
Omar Marmoush (N/A):
Drifted offside which cost Haaland a late equaliser.
Pep Guardiola (5/10):
Will have been left disappointed with City’s display in the opening 45 minutes. They improved after the break, but were unable to get key men into the game. Has a chance to make sweeping changes for the midweek Carabao Cup clash with Swansea.
