Manchester City 1 Aston Villa 2: City player ratings as Manchester City’s woes continue at Villa Park | OneFootball

Manchester City 1 (Phil Foden 93′)

Aston Villa 2 (Jhon Duran 16′, Morgan Rogers 65′)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City went down to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park. In truth the scoreline flattered Pep Guardiola’s side as Unai Emery’s side was the better team and thoroughly deserved their victory. It is now one win in twelve games for Manchester City and there doesn’t appear to be a solution to their current woes.

First half

It took only 20 seconds for Manchester City’s frailties to resurface. An undercut pass by Josko Gvardiol played in Jhon Duran. But his shot was well saved by Stefan Ortega. From the resulting corner, Ortega made another stunning save to deny a Pau Torres header. In the early stages, Manchester City were up against it but for now, they had come away unscathed.

Jack Grealish had City’s first effort of the game but his shot sailed wide in the 5th minute. The game had a lively opening that showed no signs of setting down.

Following another Jhon Duran shot that was well saved again by Ortega, Manchester City began to dominate possession. A Mateo Kovacic shot in the 8th minute was hit straight at Emiliano Martinez in the Villa goal as Pep Guardiola’s side began to settle into the game.

In the 16th minute, Aston Villa took the lead. A simple ball from Youri Tielemans split Manchester City’s high defensive line and played in Morgan Rogers. The former Manchester City academy player unselfishly played the ball across for Duran with Stefan Ortega exposed to tap in to give Villa the lead. At this point, you have to ask questions about the defensive line employed by Pep Guardiola’s side, as it was split open so easily once again.

Following Aston Villa’s goal the game settled into a pattern. Manchester City dominated possession and Unai Emery’s side looked to break after Pep Guardiola’s side lost possession. There was a lack of chances for both teams until the 34th minute. A well-worked City move saw Rico Lewis tee up Phil Foden whose shot from the right-hand side of the box was well saved by Martinez.

In the 43rd minute, Josko Gvardiol headed over from a Jack Grealish cross after a quick Manchester City counterattack. But there was more intent to City’s play on this occasion which was a positive of the move.

At halftime, Aston Villa went in with a one-nil lead and had the better chances of the first half.

Second half

Manchester City desperately needed a response in the second half. It had now become desperate times for Pep Guardiola’s side as they were staring down the barrel of extending their run to one win in twelve matches.

In the 48th minute yet another Aston Villa counter split open City’s defence. But on this occasion, Matty Cash’s shot crashed into the side netting. But Manchester City were warned of the threat of Unai Emery’s side once again.

In the 50th minute, Duran had the ball in the back of the net. But the Colombian international had strayed offside. But you did get the sense that it was only a matter of time before Villa doubled their lead.

In the 59th minute, Morgan Rogers struck the post, and frankly, Aston Villa was starting to dominate the proceedings.

In the 65th minute, Morgan Rogers doubled Aston Villa’s lead. It was a well-worked move started and finished by Rogers. It was tinged with irony as the type of player Rogers has become is the exact type of player Manchester City needs.

Phil Foden saw a shot saved by Emiliano Martinez in the 71st minute, but in truth, it was a routine save and summed up City’s second-half performance.

In the 82nd minute, Morgan Rogers played in Ollie Watkins, who saw his shot well saved again by Stefan Ortega. But it seemed that it was only a matter of time before Villa made it 3-nil.

In the 93rd minute, Phil Foden pulled a goal back for Manchester City. A driving run by Savinho created the chance and Foden confidently beat Emiliano Martinez to make it 2-1. But did it come too late?

In the end, it did. The final whistle was greeted with cheers by the Aston Villa faithful as they picked up all three points with a 2-1 win. In truth, they deserved all three points, and Pep Guardiola and his team now stare at a run of 1 win in 12 games with 9 defeats. Here are the City player ratings from Manchester City’s defeat to Aston Villa. The City player ratings reflect what was a poor display for Pep Guardiola’s side.

City player ratings

Stefan Ortega-9/10: Manchester City’s man-of-the-match, and if it wasn’t for Ortega, it could’ve been a lot worse than 2-1. His first two saves of the game were outstanding.

Rico Lewis-6/10: He never stopped trying. Defensively, he was caught out at times, but he never gave up.

John Stones-5/10: Substituted at halftime and played like a player who’d been out of action for a while.

Manuel Akanji-5.5/10: Battled on manfully but you could tell he wasn’t fully fit.

Josko Gvardiol-3/10: His poor form continued. His error after 20 seconds set the tone for his performance. Gvardiol’s form is a major concern.

Mateo Kovacic-5/10: Swam against the tide in midfield but was swamped in the end. Tried hard but couldn’t affect the game as he would’ve liked.

Ilkay Gundogan-3/10: A poor performance from Gundogan. He couldn’t get into the game and his lack of legs was exposed by Villa’s energetic midfield.

Bernardo Silva- 4/10: I can’t fault his effort, but his end product is lacking. He isn’t a right winger and shouldn’t be playing there.

Phil Foden- 7/10: He was Manchester City’s most dangerous attacking player over the 90 minutes. He took his goal well but resembled Foden at his best at times today.

Jack Grealish-6.5/10: Was City’s most dangerous player in the first half but drifted out of the game in the second half.

Erling Haaland-3/10: He started the game with energy but that faded as his service was non-existent. I’m not sure what Haaland is meant to do in a team that doesn’t play the ball to his strengths.

Substitutes

Kyle Walker-4.5/10: Came at halftime but didn’t do a lot right or a lot wrong.

Savinho-6/10: Set up Foden’s goal with a driving run. He needs to start more often from here.

Jeremy Doku- N/A: Not on long enough to mark.