Manchester City 2 Aston Villa 1: City player ratings as City pick up a vital result at the Etihad | OneFootball

Manchester City 2 (Bernardo Silva 7′, Matheus Nunes 94′)

Aston Villa 1 (Marcus Rashford 18′ (P))

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City beat Aston Villa 2-1 at the Etihad. The result was crucial to Manchester City’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. The win was sealed by a late goal from Matheus Nunes which was greeted by delirious scenes from the Manchester City fans. Perhaps Pep Guardiola’s reaction to the goal best sums up what unfolded. It was a game that City deserved to win as they dominated the play against a determined Aston Villa side.

There was no major surprises when the City starting lineup was announced. It always felt like Pep Guardiola would go with the players he trusts the most in such a big game. That’s how it played out with Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne all named in City’s starting eleven. It appeared that Pep Guardiola was hoping his team would control tonight’s match, which has been their forte in recent matches.

First half

Aston Villa fired the first shot in anger of the game inside the game’s first 18 seconds. Youri Tielemans won the ball in midfield and played in Marcus Rashford. Rashford turned Ruben Dias inside and out and his left-footed strike from just inside the City area smacked the bar with Stefan Ortega well-beaten. It was an early warning of the threat posed by Unai Emery’s side.

BERNARDO SILVA GIVES MANCHESTER CITY THE LEAD!!!!!

After Aston Villa’s fast start, Manchester City began to control possession. They would take the lead in the 7th minute through Bernardo Silva after a spell of possession. Ruben Dias picked out Omar Marmoush on the left-hand side and he made a driving run past Matty Cash into the Villa penalty area. He picked out Bernardo Silva with a quality pull-back, with the aid of a deflection, and Bernardo Silva fired a shot at Emiliano Martinez who fumbled the ball into the net to give Manchester City the lead.

VAR awards Aston Villa a penalty which Marcus Rashford tucks away to make it 1-all.

In the 15th minute, Aston Villa were awarded a penalty after a VAR check. Ruben Dias was adjudged to have fouled Jacob Ramsey after Matheus Nunes gave away the ball with a poor pass in midfield. Marcus Rashford played in Ramsey who was adjudged to have been fouled by Ruben Dias. The penalty did look to be a soft one on second viewing, and Dias did appear to get the ball. Marcus Rashford calmly dispatched the penalty to equalise for Unai Emery’s side in the 18th minute.

Kevin De Bruyne would place a header straight at Emi Martinez in the 21st minute after being picked out by a quality ball from Omar Marmoush. Marmoush was up for the occasion and he was a constant threat to the Villa defence for the opening 21 minutes of the match.

After Mateo Kovacic fired a shot straight at Emi Martinez in the 26th minute the game entered a holding pattern. Pep Guardiola’s side was dominating possession, and Aston Villa was sitting deep defensively. What was also apparent was that Unai Emery’s side was happy to waste time when given the opportunity. Villa’s game plan looked to be obvious. They were planning to sit deep and hit City on the counter with their pace.

The game settles down after a fast start.

For the next 10 minutes, the best chance for either side was an Omar Marmoush header from a Nico O’Reilly cross, which he headed well over the bar from a good position. Aston Villa’s best came through Marcus Rashford who saw a tame shot easily saved by Stefan Ortega in the 38th minute after a quality ball over the top of the City defence by Lucas Digne played in the England international.

After 4 minutes of injury time referee Craig Pawson blew his whistle for halftime. Manchester City had played well in possession, and after a whirlwind opening 25 minutes, Aston Villa did defend well, and their threat on the counter and from set pieces did stand out.

Second half

The first 10 minutes of the second half passed by without any major incident of note. Manchester City did have a string of corners and a free kick from a dangerous position. But nothing came from those particular moments. City were once again dominant in possession and Villa were again sitting deep defensively.

A tense game comes to life as both teams have chances to take the lead.

On the hour mark James McAtee narrowly missed giving Manchester City the lead. After a quick City counter, Kevin De Bruyne picked out James McAtee with a quality ball over the top of the Villa defence. McAtee elected to chip Emi Martinez and his beautiful lob went inches wide with Martinez stranded. Mateo Kovacic would hit a rasping volley straight at Emi Martinez two minutes later as City upped the ante. Aston Villa would have a good chance a minute later as Marcus Rashford rounded Stefan Ortega after a swift Aston Villa move but his finish crashed into the side netting.

James McAtee misses a golden opportunity to give City the lead.

James McAtee would scuff a shot into the arms of Emi Martinez in the 66th minute. Nico O’Reilly played in a quality ball from the left and McAtee failed to get sufficient contact on his shot from the penalty spot. It was a superb ball from O’Reilly which deserved a better finish.

Manchester City would have the ball in the back of the net in the 80th minute through Omar Marmoush after a sweeping counterattack started by Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku. After some neat play, Ilkay Gundogan played in Marmoush, who easily beat Emi Martinez. But Marmoush had strayed inches offside in the build-up.

MATHEUS NUNES WINS IT FOR MANCHESTER CITY AFTER A SUBLIME PIECE OF PLAY FROM JEREMY DOKU!!!!!!

As the game appeared to be heading to a 1-all draw, Jeremy Doku broke the game open with a superb piece of wing play. The Belgian international skinned Axel Disasi on the left wing and played a quality ball across the Aston Villa penalty box. Matheus Nunes was on hand to tap in at the back post to clinch all three points for Pep Guardiola’s side. It was a fantastic moment that sent the Etihad wild, and it was a moment that Matheus Nunes thoroughly deserved for the work he does for his team.

City player ratings

Stefan Ortega-6/10: Made one good save and was good when required in goal.

Matheus Nunes-6.5/10: It was his errant pass that led to the incident that saw Dias give away a penalty. But to his credit he scored the winner late on to redeem himself. It was a fantastic moment and one that Nunes deserved.

Ruben Dias-6/10: Harshly adjudged to have fouled Jacob Ramsey, but after that, he did his job.

Josko Gvardiol-7/10: He was the better of City’s two-centre backs once again.

Nico O’Reilly-7.5/10: Another quality performance from O’Reilly. Defended well when required and offered a constant threat going forward.

Mateo Kovacic-8/10: Played well in midfield. He has been in good form of late, and that continued tonight.

Bernardo Silva-8.5/10: Scored a goal and once again did the hard work for his team. His performance was crucial in City’s win and he City’s man-of-the-match for me.

Ilkay Gundogan-5/10: An anonymous display from Gundogan. He couldn’t get into the game at all.

James McAtee-6.5/10: McAtee took up dangerous positions and his movement did cause the Villa defence problems. He almost had a great game as he had a chip go inches wide and he scuffed another great chance in the second half.

Kevin De Bruyne-7/10: Tried all he could for his team and he played well for the majority of the game.

Omar Marmoush-7/10: He ran himself into the floor and had his moments without defining the game.

Substitutes

Jeremy Doku-8/10: He won the game for Manchester City with a superb run and ball to set up Matheus Nunes for the winner. It was great to see and Doku’s game if developing.

Manuel Akanji-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.