Manchester City is outplayed at Villa Park and suffers another expensive loss of points


Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 11:10 PM• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 23:33

Manchester City has suffered a very expensive loss of points in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola's team was the underlying team against Aston Villa for a long time, which played very strongly and turned out to be too strong with a 1-0 win. Leon Bailey was the celebrated man for the Birmingham team fifteen minutes before the end. After the draws against Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, it is the fourth time in a row that City has dropped points. The reigning national champions drop to fourth place, while Villa climbs over City thanks to the victory and is now third.

Villa manager Unai Emery opted for a two-man forward line consisting of Ollie Watkins and Bailey. The two attackers did not encounter Nathan Aké: the Dutchman was on the bench. Guardiola chose Erling Braut Haaland as the deepest striker. Julián Álvarez and Rico Lewis were lined up behind the Norwegian. Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva had to create danger from the sides.

Bailey was close to scoring early in the game. The lightning-fast attacker was sent away by John McGinn, but saw his effort saved by Ederson. Villa played very energetically, although City could not prevent two big chances after ten minutes. Foden enabled Haaland to score twice. However, Emiliano Martínez emerged victorious both times.

However, City looked frustrated at times. Guardiola's normally dominant team was anything but dominant at Villa Park and once again came away well when Bailey once again had to acknowledge his superiority in Ederson. Ezri Konsa also thought he could make it 1-0, if it weren't for the defender heading over Lucas Digne's free kick. Moments later, Josko Gvardiol prevented Youri Tielemans from opening the scoring with a save on the line.

Just before half time, Villa seemed to take the lead. Digne passed to Douglas Luiz, who worked the ball behind Ederson. However, the linesman flagged because the ball would have crossed the back line after Digne's cross. That turned out to be the correct decision. City were therefore fortunate to reach halftime without conceding a goal.

Villa also performed well after the break. Star McGinn cut inside and was briefly stopped by Rúben Dias, who did just enough to force the Scot into a mediocre shot. Villa won a large part of the losing balls and City seemed to be short of a man in Birmingham.

Fifteen minutes before the end, Villa still took the lead. Bailey started a dribble and was stopped by nothing and no one. The Jamaican international cut and saw his shot end up in the goal via Dias' heel: 1-0. Even after the opening goal, Villa continued to play at a murderous pace.

It was thanks to Ederson that Douglas Luiz did not make it 2-0 from close range from a somewhat difficult angle. The Brazilian came very close again five minutes before the end. This time he tried with a curled shot, which hit the post beyond Ederson's reach. Even in injury time, City simply did not get involved. City simply could do little about Villa's very enthusiastic and good play.

No. Team M W G V +/- Pnt
1 Arsenal 15 11 3 1 19 36
2 Liverpool 15 10 4 1 20 34
3 Aston Villa 15 10 2 3 14 32
4 Manchester City 15 9 3 3 19 30
5 Tottenham Hotspur 14 8 3 3 8 27
6 Manchester United 15 9 0 6 0 27
7 Newcastle United 14 8 2 4 18 26
8 Brighton & Hove Albion 15 7 4 4 5 25
9 West Ham United 14 6 3 5 0 21
10 Chelsea 15 5 4 6 2 19
11 Brentford 15 5 4 6 2 19
12 Fulham 15 5 3 7 -5 18
13 Wolverhampton W. 15 5 3 7 -5 18
14 Crystal Palace 15 4 4 7 -7 16
15 AFC Bournemouth 15 4 4 7 -12 16
16 Nottingham Forest 15 3 4 8 -11 13
17 Luton Town 15 2 3 10 -14 9
18 Everton 14 5 2 7 -5 7
19 Burnley 15 2 1 12 -18 7
20 Sheffield United 15 1 2 12 -30 5