Aston Villa Hand Manchester City Another Defeat, Deepening Their Struggles
Manchester City suffered yet another loss as Aston Villa claimed a 2-1 victory, marking the Premier League champions’ ninth defeat in their last 12 games.
Pep Guardiola’s side almost conceded within the opening minute and went into halftime trailing 1-0. The situation worsened when John Stones was forced off with an injury.
Former City academy player Morgan Rogers doubled Villa’s lead in the second half, capping off a dismal afternoon for the visitors. Phil Foden’s late injury-time goal provided little consolation as City’s crisis continues.
Villa’s win moves them above City into fifth place, while other results could push Guardiola’s team further down the table. Here are the player ratings from the match:
Player Ratings:
Ortega (7): Made several excellent saves to prevent an even heavier defeat.
Lewis (4): Struggled defensively, losing too many individual battles.
Stones (4): Poor performance before being substituted at halftime with another potential injury.
-Akanji (4): Lacked sharpness on his return from injury, which proved costly.
-Gvardiol (4): Contributed going forward but left the left flank exposed for Villa’s attacks.
Kovacic (5): Worked hard to connect defense and attack but was limited in impact.
Gundogan (4): Largely anonymous, contributing little aside from winning free-kicks.
Foden (5): Struggled to link with teammates and had ineffective attempts on goal but scored the consolation.
-Silva (4): Outplayed by Villa, offering no threat on the right wing.
Grealish (6): Faced boos from the crowd but was the only City attacker trying to make a difference.
Haaland (5): Received no service and was unable to influence the game.
Substitutes:
Walker (5): Quiet performance, unable to change the match.
Savinho (6): Showed some creativity, particularly in the lead-up to the consolation goal.
Doku (N/A): Came on too late to have an impact.
Unused substitutes: Carson, Ake, Simpson-Pusey, O’Reilly, McAtee, De Bruyne.
