Man City Vs Aston Villa: 5 Takeaways from A Nail-biting Encounter

The Man City vs Aston Villa game was a six-pointer. It would be crucial in deciding who will occupy the top four slots on the English Premier League table. Liverpool is three points away from winning the league so that practically makes it three slots. With this Arsenal squad playing with the swagger of the 2003/04 Invincibles, number two is also a foregone conclusion. 

That means there are just two Champions League places left to play for. There are five contenders for these spots, the lowest being the 7th-placed Aston Villa. Their win means Manchester City are a step closer to cementing a Champions League spot. Result aside, there were other uncomfortable truths this match brought to light. 

Rashford Needs To Stay

It took Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford less than a minute to justify his place in the Villa starting 11. He received a typically accurate through pass from Youri Tielemans and shook off two defenders. Unluckily, his left-foot shot bounced back off the upright to the relief of Man City Keeper Stefan Ortega. 

But it wasn’t long before Rashford put his name on the scoresheet. The busy Jacob Ramsey was brought down in the box by Rúben Diaz after a VAR review. Villa was awarded a penalty. Up stepped Rashford to blast past Ortega for the lead. 

Though he didn’t add to his tally tonight, the Villa number 9 was a constant headache for the Man City defense. He came within a whisker in the second half, rounding Ortega but shooting into the side netting from a narrow-angle. It will cost at least $53 million to keep Rashford in Villa Park. In light of this and his other performances during his loan spell, I’d say it would be money well spent. Sorry, Ollie Watkins.    

City Misses Erling Haaland Badly

In the absence of the injured Norwegian, Pep Guardiola resorted to a false nine, rewinding the clock to his Barcelona era. Kevin De Bruyne played Lionel Messi, supported by James McAtee and Omar Marmoush. The latter lived up to his manager’s expectations, driving to the byline in the sixth minute and pulling the ball back for Bernardo Silva to finish. 

However, the rest of the experiment failed. KDB put himself about but had none of his usual influence other than in the set-piece department. More on him later. On to McAtee. The 22-year-old has been guilty of some glaring misses in the recent past and today was no different. Fullback Nico O’Reilly served him with a sumptuous cross but having taken up a great central position, McAtee bungled his shot.    

This is the kind of chance the injured Haaland would have gobbled up. He would have also finished off the counter-attacking play in which Marmoush set McAtee up one-on-one with the Villa keeper. But the young Englishman’s lobbed effort was wide of the post. McAtee was not alone in his profligacy. Marmoush ballooned a header from another O’Reilly cross that a typical number 9 would have buried. 

Man City vs Aston Villa: No Memorable Homecoming

Morgan Rogers must have been pumped about returning to the Etihad. He spent four seasons as a Man City player, two and a half of which were on loan to Championship sides. But if he was hoping to prove Guardiola wrong for hawking him around and eventually selling him, he failed miserably. 

In the first half, he was overshadowed by the skillful, industrious Jacob Ramsey. Even after the Villa number 41 was rested on the hour mark, Rogers couldn’t stamp his authority on proceedings. A yellow card for upending Nico O’Reilly was his only memorable contribution to the game.  

Man City Is Ready For the Post-De Bruyne Era

De Bruyne announced that he would be leaving Manchester City at the end of the season. I don’t think the Belgian expected his departure to evoke any tearful outpouring. Man City had to do without him for the better part of last season following his injury. They better than coped. Man City won the league in his absence. The KDB who returned was not the mercurial assist machine he was before. 

Yet De Bruyne was surprised that Man City didn’t break out a new deal for him with his current one expiring during the summer. Not even a one-year extension. At 33 years of age, the midfielder still feels he has more to offer at the top level. That’s what he said on social media. But what he said online and what he showed on the field didn’t measure up today. He was more anonymous than Rogers. 

Ambition Can Be Foolish

With the game deadlocked at 1-1 and the final whistle nearing, Villa coach Unai Emery smelled blood. Ollie Watkins coming on in the 75th minute for Rashford and Marco Asensio for Amadou Onana suggested Emery was not content with a point. One point would have been enough to help the Villans climb up a place in the standings. But why settle for one when you can have all three, the Spaniard must have thought. 

Perhaps he could also use this Man City vs Aston Villa win to improve his poor record against Guardiola (17-2). His ambition proved foolish. In the 93rd minute, Jeremy Doku beat Axel Disasi on the left byline and turned on the turbo boosters. He jetted into the Villa 18 and delivered a searing cross that was tapped in at the far post by Mateus Nunez.

Guardiola, who had been exasperated for most of the game, broke into celebration while his nemesis appeared to have suffered indigestion. Emery and his men can distract themselves from their dwindling UCL chances with the weekend’s FA Cup semifinal at Wembley.