Pep Guardiola: “We make a really good first half, second half we dropped,” City’s manager tells TNT. “We changed our pressing for the reason John [Stones] could not continue. Congratulations Aston Villa and keep going.
“In the mid-block they are so strong. We have good moments, we had chances, more chances than in the [Manchester] United game, but in the second half we dropped and our pressing was not good enough. We struggled a little bit and we could not drop them well. We found a goal in the end, but too late.
“We struggle to score and we concede goals.”
Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City
Match report: “For Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, this was another painful destruction, an unthinkable ninth defeat in 12 matches for a team who have flipped from formidable to fragile and flat,” writes Ben Fisher from Villa Park.
Erling Haaland: Of course we are disappointed, it’s not good enough,” says City’s striker, who barely had a touch of the ball today but fronted up for his chat with TNT.
“It’s not good enough from me. They’re good players, it’s difficult to come here but we’re Man City we should be out there. We have to continue, we have to believe and we have to keep working hard. First I’m looking at myself, I haven’t been doing things good enough, I haven’t been scoring my chances. I have to do better, I haven’t been good enough.”
On his team’s confidence, or lack of it: “Of course, it’s not the best. We know how important confidence is and you can see that it affects every human being. That is how it is, we have to continue and stay positive even though it is difficult.”
On his manager: “He won the Premier League six times in seven years, so we will never forget that. He will find the solutions. He has been doing that every single year. We still believe in him, we have to work harder than ever right now.”
Morgan Rogers: “We knew it was going to be difficult,” says the scorer of Villa’s second goal in an interview with TNT Sports. “We knew they were going to be firing and that we had to be at it. Results haven’t been going our way either so we knew we needed a reaction. We stuck to the game plan, we showed our quality , we knew we could cause them problems and we did that. To a man I thought we were outstanding and we deserved the win.”
Man of the Match: Youri Tielemans played an important role in both goals and was the standout performer in a team where every one of Villa’s players played superbly.
Full time: Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeep! An outstanding team performance from Aston Villa, arguably their best of the season, piles more misery on Pep Guardiola, his players and the travelling City fans.
Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers got the goals that enabled Villa to climb fifth in the table, while Phil Foden’s late consolation will provide little comfort for his increasingly beleaguered manager. City have now lost nine of their past 12 games and they were well beaten here.
90+5 min: Phil Foden sends a free-kick in to the VIlla penalty arewa, where Emi Martinez plucks it from the sky. It’s all over at Villa Park, where Manchester City have lost again.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Man City (Foden 90+3)
City pull one back! After good work from Savinho, Phil Foden pounces on a mistake from Lucas Digne, who trod pon the ball in the Villa penalty area and slots the ball past Martinez from close range.
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90+2 min: We’re into four minutes of add-ons and City are camped in the area surrounding the Villa penalty area. A Rico Lewis pass to Foden is overhit and the ball runs through to Martinez, who is already on a yellow card and therefore unable to waste time with his usual elan.
90 min: It’s kitchen sink time for Manchester City, although they look completely out of ideas. Villa substitution: Morgan Rogers, who has been excellent this afternoon, makes way for Emi Buendia.
88 min: City corner. Grealish plays it short to Doku, who is on for Kovacic, but the substitute is unable to get a cross into the Villa box.
87 min: Jack Grealish is booked for a foul on John McGinn, prompting loud cheers from the Villa fans.
85 min: With City staring down the barrel of yet another defeat, the post-match focus is almost certainly going to be on their ongoing shortcomings but it’s important to credit Villa with an excellent performance this afternoon. They’ve been outstanding and probably should have bagged a couple of more goals.
84 min: Josko Gvardiol is booked for a lunge on John McGinn after being sold short by a poor pass from Jack Grealish.
83 min: Ollie Watkins is played in behind by a reverse pass from Morgan Rogers and shoots straight at Stefan Ortega, with Manuel Akanji breathing down his neck.
81 min: Pau Torres pings the ball upfield for Digne to chase and the Villa left-back collides with Manuel Akanji before going to ground after a poor first touch. The City defender is penalised, somewhat harshly in my humble opinion.
80 min: Aston Villa substitution: Jhon Duran is replaced by Ollie Watkins and goes off to a warm ovation from the Villa Park faithful.
79 min: On TNT Sports, Ally McCoist is perplexed by City’s lack of urgency and reluctance to press VIlla’s players when they try to play the ball out from the back. “It’s all too easy for Villa!” he exhorts.
77 min: Haaland gets on the ball and charges forward but inevitably runs into traffic on the edge of the Villa box with nobody in a City shirt up in support.
75 min: Some good news for City: Villa have conceded eight goals in the final 15 minutes of league matches this season, with only Wolves (9) letting in more.
74 min: Phil Foden receives a pass and shoots on the turn but his effort from 20 yards or so sails straight into the hands of Emi Martinez.
73 min: With Gundogan … em, gone Bernardo Silva moves in to a more central role, with Savinho taking up his position on the right wing.
72 min: Manchester City substitution: Savinho comes on for Ilkay Gundogan.
71 min: If Villa win this game, they’ll leapfrog City in the league table and go fifth.
70 min: Bernardo Silva makes a crucial tackle in his own penalty area to deny Rogers another goalscoring opportunity as he ran on to a through ball from McGinn.
66 min: A tip of the hat to Youri Tielemans, who made a selfless decoy run around the outside of McGinn, which distracted Gvardiol and gave the Scot space to make the passs to Rogers, who was the original instigator of Villa’ excellent move. “Sacked in the morning! You’re getting sacked in the morning!” sing the Villa fans as they serenade Pep Guardiola.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 Man City (Rogers 64)
Villa double their lead! There’s a surging run from John McGinn, who plays the ball inside to Morgan Rogers, who sends a low, early shot across the bows of Ortega and into the bottom right-hand corner from the edge of the penalty area.
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63 min: Kovacic gets the ball wide to Grealish, who jinks past Cash and sends a cross into the side-netting. The Villa crowd whistle their derision.
61 min: Waving his arms in frustration as Matty Cash heads another ball clear, Erling Haaland is cutting an increasingly forlorn figure up front for City, who are unable to get the ball anywhere near him.
59 min: So close!!! Morgan Rogers smashes a low shot off the foot of the post from about eight yards after playing a give-and-go with Duran and dancing past Josko Gvardiol.
58 min: Ortega almost gets caught dawdling on the ball under a heavy press from Duran.
57 min: Play resumes with Akanji fit to continue for now despite hurting his right shoulder.
56 min: Akanji and Duran contest a 50-50 ball and both go down injured. Akanji seems to have landed awkwardly on his shoulder and is receiving treatment.
54 min: City win a free-kick halfway inside the Villa half and get the ball wide to Grealish. He tries to play Gundogan in to the byline but Kamara intercepts and clears.
53 min: Amadou Onana is penalised for a foul on Foden that leaves the City player writhing on the ground in pain.
52 min: Still looking for his first Premier League goal of the season, Phil Foden receives a pass on the half-turn and tries to curl a shot into the top corner from the edge of Villa penalty area. It’s high and wide.
50 min: Jhon Duran runs in behind the City defence on to a through ball from Tielemans and smashes the ball past Stefan Ortega. The flag goes up for offside and it’s the correct decision. It’s another let-off for City because there' wasn’t much in it.
48 min: Villa surge forward on the break with McGinn on the ball. He picks out Cash on the right and the Villa full-back shoots into the side-netting from a tight angle when he should have squared to the completely unmarked Boubacar Kamara. A great opportunity goes to waste.
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47 min: Rico Lewis is booked for shoving Youri Tielemans off the ball as the Villa player tried to rampage upfield with the ball at his feet.
47 min: Walker slots in at right-back ,with Rico Lewis moving to left-back and Josko Gvardiol going to the left-side of central defence.
Second half: Aston Villa 1-0 Man City
46 min: Play resumes, with Kyle Walker on for John Stones in the City defence. A tactical switch or an injury to Stones? There’s no word at the moment but we’ll probably find out later.
An email: “Amazing tactical genius from Emery to unlock this City defence by *checks notes* just running past them,” writes Andy Bradshaw. “Merry Christmas all.”
Half-time: Aston Villa 1-0 Man City
Peep! Referee Peter Bankes brings the half to a close, prompting a minor set-to between Emi Martinez and Jack Grealish. The Villa goalkeeper gets booked, with his side leading courtesy of Jhon Duran’s opener. It’s been a good game so far and Manchester City are far from out of it.
Updated
45 min: A decent Villa counter-attack breaks down when John McGinn is unable to control a lofted pass from Rogers with sufficient speed to get a shot away. It’s half-time.
44 min: It’s been a game of very few stoppages so far, so we’re unlikely to have too much added time at the end of this half.
43 min: City break forward and Jack Grealish curls a cross into the Villa penalty area. Josko Gvardiol gets a touch on the ball but is unable to steer it past the advancing Martinez. He should have scored!
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41 min: Haaland picks out Foden on the edge of the Villa penalty area but Pau Torres relieves the Englishman of possession before he can get the ball under control.
40 min: Boubacar Kamara challenges Foden in the middle of the park and wins the ball, breaking up what looked like a promising City counter-attack.
38 min: Pau Torres gets himself in a pickle, dawdling on the ball in his own penalty area under intense pressure from Haaland. He just about manages to hack the ball clear.
37 min: It’s been coming and he can’t say he wasn’t warned. Matty Cash gets booked for another ill-advised lunge on Jack Grealish.
36 min: Villa break upfield from a corner but a promising moves breaks down when John McGinn pickls the wrong pass. If anything Clive, he had too many options.
35 min: Lewis and Foden combine well down the inside right, with the latter bringing a smart save out of Martinez with his low diagonal effort.
34 min: With the ball at his feet on the edge of the centre-circle, Rico Lewis surveys his options, realises he doesn’t have many and plays a short sideways pass to Mateo Kovacic.
33 min: Grealish plays a nice defence-splitting pass from deep to Foden, who is crowded off the ball on the edge of the Villa penalty area.
32 min: Amadou Onana concedes another free-kick near the halfway line and City set about trying to break down the Villa defence again. “They have nowhere to go except wide,” says Ally.
31 min: Grealish sends a cross into the Villa penalty area, trying to pick out Erling Haaland. His delivery is nodded clear by Digne.
29 min: “It’s as big a fall-off from a top team as I can ever remember,” says super Ally McCoist, who is on co-comms duty with TNT Sports. No prizes for guessing which side he’s talking about.
27 min: Erling Haaland is penalised for a push on Ezri Konsa as Emi Martinez dashes off his line to dive on and smother a loose ball in his penalty area.
26 min: City get the ball wide to Grealish again, continuing a recurring theme in this game. He’s forced to play it back inside to Gvardiol, what with there being no other options available. Villa are maintaining an impressively rigid defensive shape.
23 min: Jack Grealish cuts inside Cash and tries to bend another shot inside the far post. His effort is deflected out for a throw-in deep in Villa territory.
22 min: Bernardo Silva takes on and beats Lucas Digne down the right wing but is forced backwards by Morgan Rogers, who rushes to give his teammate some assitance.
20 min: Villa have had 22% of the possession thus far but have had five attempts on goal compared to City’s two.
19 min: That was very unselfish from Rogers, who could have shot himself having been put clean through on goal by that beautifully weighted pass from Tielemans, but elected to give Dhuran the opportunity to increase his goal tally instead.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Man City (Dhuran 16)
Villa lead! Morgan Rogers gives Kjovacic the slip and runs on to a wonderful through ball from Tielemans and bears down on goal. With Ortega looming large, he slips the ball a few yards sideways to John Dhuran, who slots past the City goalkeeper.
Updated
15 min: Matty Cash gets a ticking-0ff from the referee after clattering through the back of Grealish. Peter Bankes keeps his yellow card in his pocket for now.
14 min: Having survived their very early wobble, Manchester City are dominating possession and looking more likely to score. Grealish tries to wriggle past Matty Cash en route to the edge of the six-yard box but is unable to get the better of his former teammate.
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12 min: Grealish pulls a pass back towards Kovacic from the byline. The City midfielder shapes to curl the ball into the penalty area towards the far post but then shoots instead. Martinez isn’t fooled and saves comfortably.
11 min: Another free-kick for City, with Amadou Onana the trangressdor on this occasion. Gundogan’s ball into the Villa box is headed out for a corner by Morgan Rogers. The inswinger is cleared.
9 min: Phil Foden curls the dead ball into the Villa penalty area, where it’s cleared by the combined forces of Pau Torres and Jhon Duran.
9 min: Grealish draws a free-kick in a wide area on the left from Matty Cash.
8 min: Villa take a throw-in and the ball is chucked towards Dhuran. Unmarked, he shoots on the turn with his first touch but is unable to lift the ball over Ortega from distance.
6 min: Villa break forward on the counter and John McGinn tries to curl the ball across the face of goal in a bid to pick out Jhon Duran. Facing his own goal, Manuel Akanji stretches out a leg to make a crucial interception.
5 min: Jack Grealish cuts in from the left and tries to curl a shot past Emi Martinez. Wide. It’s been a frantic start.
4 min: It’s been some start from Villa, who should have been in front after 20 seconds but for an uncharacteristically poor effort from John Dhuran. He probably should have advanced a little further on goal before shooting.
2 min: Villa almost score from the corner, with Ortega performing heroics to keep Pau Torres’ header from crossing the line. Erling Haaland hacks the ball clear.
Updated
Aston Villa v Manchester City is go ...
1 min: City get the ball rolling but Villa relieve them of possession as John McGinn robs Josko Gvardiol of about 10 yards outside his own box. He slips it forward to Jhon Duran, who is clean through on goal but has his low shot saved by Stefan Ortega. Corner for Villa.
Not long now: John McGinn and Bernardo Silva lead their teams out on to the Villa Park pitch ahead of the last of the pre-match niceties. Kick-off in a match that is incredibly difficult to call is just a couple of minutes away.
Manuel Akanji: “With the many games we have there is always another opportunity,” says the Manchester City defender in an interview with TNT Sports. “We come here and will try to get the three points.
“A few more training sessions in a time like this is good. We can speak about the things we can improve. We are determined and nobody likes losing. We really want to turn this around and I hope we can do that today.”
Unai Emery: "It is a very good test"
“It’s a very tough and very exciting match,” said Villa’s manager. “Playing Manchester City at home is great motivation for us. It is a very good test.
“They have been the best team for the last years in the Premier League and now maybe they are not being consistent for different circumstances. But they are the best and the coach is the best.
“To be consistent like they are is difficult. They were successful over the last few years and being consistent in everything. They have time to be a winner again in this competition.”
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Pep Guardiola: "I am fine"
“I handle the good moments - I handle good the bad moments,” said Manchester City’s manager in his pre-match press conference. “I have had bad ones in my career as a manager but we were able to come back and now it takes longer.
“I take experience with that. I have had 40 days of bad days in terms of results. That is the truth when you compare to eight years which is much better. There have been eight years of incredible [results] and now we have 40-45 days of [bad results].
“I am fine. I am a normal person with feelings like all of us. When a situation is going well, we are better and when it is not going well professionally, we are more [focused] on what we have to do.”
Those teams: Along with Leon Bailey and Tyrone Mings, Ollie Watkins has to make do with a place on the Villa bench, with Jhon Duran starting ahead of him. Amadou Onana starts in midfield, with Diego Carlos dropping out.
Pep Guardiola makes six changes to the team that started against Manchester United last weekend, with Kyle Walker and Kevin de Bruyne among the notable absentees.
Ederson has failed a fitness test and is replaced by Stefan Ortega, while Jack Grealish gets a rare start for the champions against his former club.
Updated
Aston Villa v Manchester City line-ups
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers, Duran
Substitutes: Bogarde, Buendia, Barkley, Watkins, Mings, Maatsen, Nedeljkovic, Bailey, Olsen
Manchester City: Ortega, Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Grealish, Haaland
Subs: Carson, Walker, Ake, Doku, De Bruyne, Savinho, Simpson-Pusey, O’Reilly, McAtee
Today’s match officials
Referee: Peter Bankes.
Assistants: Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh.
Fourth official: Andy Madley.
VAR: Darren England.
Assistant VAR: Darren Cann.
Early team news
The big news from the City camp is that Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake have joined long-term absentees Oscar Bobb and Rodri on the sidelines, but Pep Guardiola will be able to call on John Stones and Mateo Kovacic, who are both reported to be fit and available for selection. Rico Lewis is also back from suspension, but Ederson’s participation is in doubt.
Villa striker Ollie Watkins has recovered from injury but will have to settle for a place on the bench if the in-form Jhon Duran gets the nod from Unai Emery ahead of him. Leon Bailey is back from a short spell out with injury but Jacob Ramsey remains out.
Premier League: Aston Villa v Man City
Well, now. With team confidence at rock bottom after just one win in their past 11 (eleven!) games in all competitions, Manchester CIty travel to Villa Park hoping to electro-shock their flatlining title hopes back into life with a much-needed victory.
It’s a match few expect them to win given their current abysmal form but their hosts are unlikely to take today’s task lightly, having emerged from a mini-slump of their own before hitting the canvas courtesy of two late sucker-punches from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga in their match against Nottingham Forest last weekend. Kick-off at Villa Park is at 12.30pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
