Manchester City face some serious issues to sort out before Christmas after their remarkable slide continued at Villa Park this afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side now have just one win in 12 games in all competitions after goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers gave Aston Villa a well-deserved three points.
In truth it could have been a much heavier defeat as City took advantage of their luck before Duran opened the scoring in the 16th minute and Rogers equalized midway through the second half.
Phil Foden scored another injury-time goal for the four-time defending Premier League champions, but they still appear to be miles away from their all-time winning best.
Despite their injuries, City were a disorganized mess and could end the weekend in ninth place in the Premier League table.
Guardiola left Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench, while Villa’s team news was led by the introduction of Duran ahead of Ollie Watkins.
The first chances for Villa are slim
The Colombian striker almost turned to coach Unai Emery within 19 seconds. Josko Gvardiol stayed on the ball and allowed John McGinn to break through and put Duran clear on goal, but he fired his shot too early and Stefan Ortega came into his own and made the save.
The German shone from the resulting corner, leaping to the left and pushing Pau Torres’ header onto the underside of the crossbar, the ball missing the line by millimeters.
City were all out defensively and it was no surprise when the stalemate was broken just after the quarter hour mark.
The outstanding Youri Tielemans fed Rogers on the left and his selfless cross was perfect for Duran, who fired it into the net.
Jhon Duran opens the scoring and leads for Aston Villa 🤩
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/RvI7nQl6cs
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024
Jack Grealish, playing the role of pantomime villain against his former club, was City’s only bright spot when he fired a hot shot past Matty Cash on Villa’s right flank. His effort allowed Foden to fire a shot on goal, which earned a fine save from Emiliano Martinez, before Grealish himself saw a shot blocked by the Argentine goalkeeper.
Walker replaced John Stones at the break but that did little to solidify the visitors’ defense as Cash missed a good opportunity within three minutes of the restart, firing into the side netting rather than picking out a Villa jersey in the penalty area.
A Duran goal was disallowed for offside after 50 minutes before Rogers shot against the base of the left post while Gvardiol was again sluggish.
Rogers punishes former club
A second goal seemed to be coming and this one came after 65 minutes. This time it was former City man Rogers who scored the goal after starting and finishing a move where he was played by McGinn.
Morgan Rogers makes it 2-0 for Aston Villa 🔥
The defensive problems continue for Man City 😳
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/vuutXbzjas
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024
Watkins came on for Duran and almost immediately made an impact, making a good save from Ortega’s low shot.
Foden did manage to score his first league goal of the season in injury time, capitalizing on some great work from substitute Savinho, but that was no consolation for City, whose problems continue.
