Aston Villa 2–1 Manchester City: Player Ratings From City's Ninth Defeat in 12 Matches

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·21 dicembre 2024

Aston Villa 2–1 Manchester City: Player Ratings From City's Ninth Defeat in 12 Matches

Manchester City’s crisis continued on Saturday afternoon after succumbing to a 2–1 defeat away at Aston Villa in the Premier League.

This result marked City's ninth defeat in 12 matches in all competitions and their sixth Premier League defeat in eight games, and Pep Guardiola's side were decidedly second-best in this contest.

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City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who came in for the injured Ederson was forced into action after just 19 seconds, when he plunged low to save Jhon Duran’s low strike. The German then produced an astonishing save a minute later to repel Pau Torres’ powerful header onto the bar from a corner.

However, any resistance against Villa’s attacks proved futile when Youri Tielemans’s defense-splitting pass found Morgan Rogers who squared the ball for Duran to tap into an empty net to give the home side the lead. Villa turned on the style in the second half, and Rogers struck the post with a fierce low strike after a quick one-two with Duran.

The England midfielder, who was superb in this match, was not to be denied his goal. The 22-year-old doubled Villa’s lead with a brilliant goal, started by a bustling run from his own half, and duly arrowed a low shot past Ortega into the bottom left corner after John McGinn teed up his shot.

Phil Foden earned an injury-time consolation for the visitors when he calmly slotted the ball at Emi Martinez's near post after a Lucas Digne slip, but Villa held on to secure all three points.