For the third time in a row, Manchester City loses at Aston Villa. A dream goal from Cash and a strong defensive performance were enough for the Villans to secure a narrow 1-0 victory.
Manchester City had not lost in five Premier League games and had bounced back after a false start.
On Sunday, there was a long-distance duel for the top of the table – with Arsenal, of course, in the better position, having three points more to their credit. In Birmingham at Aston Villa, Pep Guardiola left out Doku, among others, and brought in home-grown Bobb instead. Led by Foden and Bernardo Silva, City nevertheless started with their usual dominance, but failed to get Haaland into the game or create any clear chances. And the Villans, also unbeaten in five league games but embarrassed 2-1 by Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League, struck back with counterattacks. A blocked Digne shot (17′) led to a corner, which resulted in the lead: taken short, the ball came to Cash on the edge of the box and the Pole fired it into the bottom left corner (19′).
The goal took City’s confidence away and, as a result, their control of the game. With aggressive tackling and quick transitions, the Villans annoyed the visitors and subsequently had even more of the play. McGinn—whose shot whizzed just centimeters past the post (30th minute)—and Watkins—who headed a corner kick straight at Ruben Dias (34th minute) with no one around him—missed further big chances before the break.
Donnarumma saves twice – Haaland unlucky
The first chance after the break also belonged to the home side, with McGinn firing a direct shot into the penalty area (53′). It took over an hour for the other side to create their first dangerous moment: Savinho had a double chance, but Onana blocked the first shot and Pau cleared the rebound off the line (61′).
City grew stronger again, pushing for the equalizer, but failed to create any real chances. There was always an opposing leg in the way. Haaland failed to get any power behind his header (71′), and Foden’s shot was blocked by Onana (82′). Defensively, the Skyblues had to be careful not to concede a decisive counterattack; Donnarumma prevented worse against Sancho (70′) and Watkins (75′).
A few minutes before the end, the ball finally found its way into Villa keeper Martinez’s goal, with Haaland sliding it over the line with the help of the post. But as Marmoush, who provided the assist, had been offside, the flag was rightly raised (89′). So the Skyblues remained defeated – their third consecutive defeat at Villa Park in Birmingham. As Arsenal won 1-0 against Crystal Palace at the same time, the gap widened to six points.