Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at the Etihad on Wednesday to boost their hopes of Champions League qualification, after Matheus Nunes scored at stoppage time to claim all three points for City.
Both sides went into the fixture neck-deep in the struggle for the Champions League spots. Marcus Rashford hit the post for Villa within just seconds of the start of the match, but it was City who opened the scoring in the 8th minute, when Bernardo Silva swept in the ball after Villa had failed to clear Omar Marmoush’s low cross.
However, Villa went level shortly after when Ruben Dias was penalised for a controversial foul on Morgan Rogers in the box, and Marcus Rashford converted from the penalty spot.
As the match progressed, City dominated possession and created better chances than their opponents, but the visitors stayed resilient.
In the second half, City imposed themselves even more on the game while Aston Villa dropped off. Youngster McAtee almost put the home side ahead at the hour mark, but his chip over Martinez went agonisingly wide.
Aston Villa showed their intent to win after the hour when Emery subbed off defensive players for offensive ones, introducing Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen. But it was City who came close again when Omar Marmoush finished from Ilkay Gundogan’s assist after brilliant City team play, but the Egyptian had been offside in the buildup.
At the 90th minute it looked like both sides would share the spoils. But the lively Jeremy Doku, introduced in the second half, skipped away from his marker on the left wing and delivered a dangerous cross that Nunes finished, sending the home fans into rapture and Guardiola punching the air energetically.
The result leaves City third with 61 points, albeit having played one more than both Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, who are fourth and fifth respectively.
