Tribal Football
·20 January 2021
Tribal Football
·20 January 2021
Late goals from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan helped Manchester City overcome Aston Villa at the Etihad.
It seemed Villa do both Manchester United and Leicester City a favour by stubbornly holding on for a draw in the North West.
But City showed the determination and grit that defines champions by battling for the opening goal after 79 minutes.
It was Silva who did the damage. Rodri stole the ball from Tyrone Mings and fed the Portuguese playmaker, who smashed a fabulous strike into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Dean Smith was sent off for protesting with referee Jon Moss, with replays showing Rodri was offside before returning to challenge Mings.
Gundogan made sure of the points from the penalty spot after Matty Cash handled a header from Gabriel Jesus.
Speaking after the game, manager Pep Guardiola was delighted with City's performance.
"I had the feeling we controlled the game," Guardiola said. "The top four players they have, player like Jack Grealish and Rosss Barkley, the feeling is that wow, you feel the dangers in every actions.
"We arrived at the byline many times but could not score the goal but Bernando Silva was there and his goal made the difference.
"We struggled against Brighton in the last game - they are one of the best teams for creating chances, so it has been hard for us. Maybe they are not clinical but they are good.
"It was 5-7 minutes where Aston Villa had two or three chances. When they can run with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley but we make actions and control the passes.
I'm not going to analyse the game but in against a top team we have come up with a brilliant performance."