Villa Dominate Struggling Man City in Impressive 2-1 Win

Aston Villa totally stunned Manchester City with a solid 2-1 victory! That’s just more bad news for Pep Guardiola’s squad.

December 21, 2024
3:43 pm

Aston Villa put on a fantastic show to snag a 2-1 Premier League win over Manchester City, leaving Pep Guardiola’s champs with just one win in their last 12 matches. Unai Emery’s squad is now sitting pretty above City in the table, staying unbeaten in eight home league games.

Both teams came into this match hoping to turn their seasons around, but it was Villa who jumped out to an early lead. Jhon Durán had the first big chance after Joško Gvardiol’s wayward pass sent him racing toward goal, but Stefan Ortega made a key save. From the corner that followed, Ortega was busy again, brilliantly tipping Pau Torres’ header onto the crossbar.

The warning signs were there for City, but they didn’t respond, and Villa broke the deadlock in the 16th minute. Morgan Rogers zipped through City’s midfield and squared it for Durán, who coolly slotted it past Ortega. The Villans were buzzing with energy, while City struggled to turn their possession into real chances. Jack Grealish, back at Villa Park, had plenty of the ball but couldn’t create any clear openings. Gvardiol came closest for City before halftime, but his header was always rising.

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Villa kicked off the second half just as strong, keeping City pinned back with relentless pressure. Matty Cash fired into the side netting, and Durán thought he had doubled the lead, but his goal was ruled out for offside. Villa’s dominance paid off in the 65th minute when Rogers, linking up nicely with John McGinn, struck a composed finish into the far corner to double the hosts’ lead.

City, looking unusually toothless, managed just one long-range effort from Phil Foden in response. Villa, on the other hand, kept pushing for a third, with Ollie Watkins forcing another save from Ortega at the near post.

Foden finally scored a consolation in stoppage time – his first Premier League goal of the season – but it was too little, too late. Villa comfortably wrapped up the win, moving up to fifth place in the league table and extending their unbeaten home run to eight games since their opening-day loss to Arsenal.

For City, defensive issues are still a big worry. The reigning champions have now lost more games in their last 12 than they did in their previous 107, leaving Guardiola with a lot to think about as their title defense continues to slip away.