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Manchester City head into Christmas with some serious issues to sort out after their notable fall from grace continued at Villa Park this afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side have managed just one win in 12 games in all competitions after goals from Jhon Durán and Morgan Rogers gave Aston Villa a well-deserved three points.
In truth, it could have been a much tougher defeat as City took advantage of their luck before Durán’s opening goal in the 16th minute and Rogers settled the score midway through the second half.
Phil Foden pulled one back in injury time for the four-time defending Premier League champions, but they still look miles off their 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 the current status of the Villa team led to the inclusion of Durán ahead of Ollie Watkins.
The first opportunities beg Villa
The Colombian striker almost paid coach Unai Emery back in 19 seconds. Josko Gvardiol wasted time on the ball, allowing John McGinn to come in and leave Durán clear on goal, but he shot too early and Stefan Ortega got down low to save.
The German stood out from the resulting corner, jumping to his left to push Pau Torres’ header onto the crossbar without the ball crossing the line by millimeters.
City were very active in defense and it was no surprise when the deadlock was broken shortly after the quarter-hour mark.
Standout Youri Tielemans picked out Rogers on the left and his selfless cross was perfect for Duran to fire into the net.
Jhon Durán opens the scoring and Aston Villa leads 🤩
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/RvI7nQl6cs
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024
Jack Grealish, who played the role of pantomime villain against his former club, was City’s only bright spark as he gave Matty Cash a torrid moment down Villa’s right flank. His probing allowed Foden to shoot at goal which led to a good save from Emiliano Martínez before Grealish himself saw an attempt blocked by the Argentine goalkeeper.
Walker replaced John Stones at the break, but that did little to solidify the visitors’ defense as Cash wasted a good chance three minutes into the restart, firing into the side netting instead of picking out a Villa shirt in the area.
Durán had a goal ruled out for offside after 50 minutes before Rogers fired against the base of the left post with Gvardiol again slow.
Rogers punishes former club
The second goal seemed to be approaching and it came in the 65th minute. This time it was former City player Rogers who hit the target after starting and finishing a play in which McGinn played him in.
Morgan Rogers makes it 2-0 to Aston Villa 🔥
Defensive problems continue for Man City 😳
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/vuutXbzjas
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024
Watkins was introduced by Durán and almost made an immediate impact, getting a good save from Ortega with a low shot.
Foden managed to score his first league goal of the season in stoppage time, capitalizing on excellent work from substitute Savinho, but it was little consolation for City, whose problems continue.
