Aston Villa beat Man City 2-1 to pile pressure on Guardiola

Aston Villa delivered a hammer blow to Manchester City’s stuttering season with a 2-1 victory at Villa Park, plunging Pep Guardiola further into crisis as his side suffered their ninth defeat in 12 matches across all competitions.

Goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers secured a memorable win for Villa, with Phil Foden’s late consolation offering little solace for the reigning champions. This latest setback leaves City in sixth place, nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, who have played two games fewer. Meanwhile, Villa leapfrogged City into fifth, keeping their top-four ambitions alive.

The defeat marks City’s sixth loss in eight Premier League outings and extends their winless streak in away games to eight matches, underscoring the team’s dramatic decline. Guardiola made six changes to his lineup following last week’s Manchester derby loss, but the adjustments failed to inspire a turnaround as City once again delivered a laboured performance.

Villa, themselves struggling with form having won just three of their previous 11 league games, seized the opportunity to reignite their campaign. Their victory was built on defensive resilience and clinical finishing, exposing City’s frail backline and lacklustre attack.

The tone was set from the opening whistle, with Stefan Ortega, deputizing for the injured Ederson, forced into two crucial saves within the first minute. Ortega spectacularly tipped Pau Torres’ header onto the bar and denied Duran following a catastrophic error by Josko Gvardiol just 15 seconds into the game.
Villa capitalized on their early dominance after 16 minutes when Youri Tielemans unlocked City’s defence with a sublime through-ball. Rogers latched onto the pass and unselfishly squared for Duran, who calmly slotted past Ortega.

Despite spells of possession, City struggled to create clear-cut chances and looked increasingly vulnerable at the back. Villa doubled their lead in the 65th minute as Rogers, a former City player, fired a composed low finish to put the game beyond reach.

Foden pulled one back in injury time, but it was too little, too late for City, who now find themselves in uncharted territory under Guardiola. Villa’s triumph, on the other hand, reaffirms their ambitions for a strong finish to the season and provides a morale boost in their pursuit of European football.

The pressure mounts on Guardiola to find solutions as City’s season continues to unravel, while Villa will savour a pivotal win that could shape the trajectory of their campaign.