Manchester City definitely motivated after Premier League allegations
Manchester City responded to heavy Premier League claims with excellent performance against Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium
With another opportunity to reduce the gap at the top after another Arsenal stumble, Manchester City hosted Aston Villa in their match following the Premier League’s reports of financial control breaches.
Manager Pep Guardiola made four changes from the side beaten at Tottenham, most notably the return of Dias in his first start since the World Cup. Laporte at the back, while De Bruyne and Gundogan also returned.
On the other side, manager Unai Emery replaces the injured Tyrone Mings with Chambers in central defense, this being the only change from the defeat against Leicester. Diego Carlos and Bertrand Traore remain injured.
Manchester City totally dominant against Aston Villa
There was huge anticipation for Manchester City’s first match after the busy week with the Premier League allegations and Arsenal’s stumble. Soon after the starting whistle, the Citizens proved that the news had only a positive effect on the squad.
With only 4 minutes left, Guardiola’s team took the lead. rom their first corner of the game, Mahrez sends over an outswinging cross to the near post for Rodri to beat Kamara and hit a strong header into the bottom-left corner.
For the rest of the first half, we saw a dominant Manchester City in possession and with much variation of play, occupying the final third constantly and finishing on target at various times, this being their best performance in many months.
To read our player ratings from this match, click here.
In the 39th minute, the second goal for the Citizens came. In another excellent tactical performance, winning recurring disputes against the markers, Haaland left Chambers behind and makes for the byline and drives over a low cross for Gundogan, who then slams the ball home from close range.
Before the break, Mahrez made the score 3-0 after hitting the penalty at the top-left of the net, leaving Martinez completely lost in the attempted save. Aston Villa failed to produce offensively and were completely dominated before the break.
Villa failed to make an impact in the second half
Right after the return from the break, in his first move, Alvarez lays a ball off for Rodri, who arrives just inside the box, but goalkeeper Martinez avoided the goal with an excellent save in the bottom corner.
Aston Villa managed to reduce the deficit when Silva loses the ball on the halfway line, giving Watkins the opportunity to beat Akaji and get past Ederson. However, this conceded goal did not change the rest of the match.
With this victory, Manchester City ends Matchweek 22 with 48 points, only three points behind Arsenal, in the second place of the Premier League. This is the best possible response to the negative news that affected the Citizens’ week.