All Manchester City can do is what they did on Wednesday night against Aston Villa: beat the next opponent and hope that Liverpool – and Arsenal – slip up in the remaining games of this invigorating championship race.
This scenario is due to the four dropped points in their recent meetings with their title rivals. And, in Unai Emery’s Champions League hopefuls, City took on and defeated the team directly below them, finally recording a victory over a top-five side.
They did so without Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne who were unused substitutes, and via Phil Foden’s scintillating hat-trick, which took his tally to 21 of a career‑best season and decorated City’s winvictory.
The 23-year-old said: “Obviously I’m just loving my football at the moment. I’m just playing with a smile on my face and trying to help the team because I know I’m capable of scoring goals and I know today I showed that, so I’m delighted.”
Loss, draw, win read Villa’s record in their previous three league outings; a total of four points to City’s five in the same span. Emiliano Martínez was named in the visitor’s XI but was taken ill so Robin Olsen replaced the No 1 for a second league appearance this season. Emery’s side were missing their 22-goal striker, Ollie Watkins, too, due to a hamstring problem. So into this void stepped Jhon Durán for only a second league start, and he would score.
First, though, Julián Álvarez, Haaland’s stand-in, latched on to a Jack Grealish ball but hit the side-netting. Jérémy Doku, operating on the opposite right flank to the former Villa captain, won a free-kick which Foden launched and Olsen plucked from the air.
This is a trademark of Pep Guardiola’s City: the use of wings to prosper. Grealish was being booed by his former fans but cared not a fig as he bamboozled Villa’s right side and then came Rodri’s opener – from Doku’s flank.
Foden passed to Manuel Akanji who returned possession and now Foden illustrated why he resembles De Bruyne. His ball to Doku was cunning and, when the Belgian zipped in a cross, Rodri’s finish resembled one of his pinpoint passes, allowing Olsen zero chance.
The Spain midfielder – “he is the best in the world in his position,” Guardiola said – pumped the air and encouraged the home faithful to raise the noise. But soon they were quietened. Durán’s equaliser was the textbook mode of breaching City. One moment Álvarez attacked in Villa’s area, the next they broke, the Colombian swapped passes with Morgan Rogers and steered a shot, from an angle on the left, into Stefan Ortega’s far corner.
City’s riposte featured a Grealish volley that skidded wide and a phase in which they lost the plot. Grealish was booked, which followed a Guardiola tantrum at Robert Jones, the fourth official, when Lucas Digne escaped sanction for a challenge on Doku.
Then City were ahead again. Douglas Luiz yanked down Foden on the edge of the area and the England international threaded the free-kick through a gap in Villa’s wall to beat Olsen to his right. Cut to a delighted Guardiola and an Emery who was furious, probably at Nicolò Zaniolo for being the leak in the barrier.
In a contest far more open than City’s goalless affair with Arsenal, the hosts required a cushion to feel comfortable. Shots from Doku and Bernardo Silva threatened to provide this as they rolled the ball around. But, again, they were nearly sucker-punched, as Villa mugged them, roved downfield, and saw Douglas Luiz’s effort inside the area repelled by Ortega.
Emery’s tactic was a carbon copy of Mikel Arteta’s: a low block in defence and a wait to raid their hosts. Zaniolo was the latest to try the ploy, his attempt inside City’s box requiring Rúben Dias to put his body on the line to stymie it.
But there was nothing Villa could do about a Foden second created by brilliant Rodri footwork that removed three players, before the regal midfielder shifted the ball laterally to Foden whose strike was a guided missile Olsen could only stare at.
Foden’s third was a zinger as he regained the ball and, from the Villa D, rifled into the roof of Olsen’s net. It sent him, Guardiola and all City enthusiasts into ecstasy. It also meant Rodri and Silva could enjoy a breather, as Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes entered for the closing minutes.
It meant, too, a complete evening off for Haaland and De Bruyne and, with next week’s trip to Real Madrid coming after Crystal Palace on Saturday, this may prove priceless. When Foden was replaced the cheer he received was loud – and deserved.
As Rodri said: “With this player he grows every single year. He can score whatever he wants, arriving in the box, he has a special quality. Three today and so happy for him.”
• This article was amended on 5 April 2024. Manchester City’s victory was their first this season against a top-five side, not against a top-six side; Manchester United were in sixth place when City beat them on 3 March.
