Manchester City will go into Christmas with some serious problems to sort out after their remarkable fall from grace continued at Villa Park this afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side have now registered just one win in 12 games in all competitions after goals from John Duran and Morgan Rodgers gave Aston Villa a deserved three points.
In fact, it could have been a much heavier defeat as City rode their luck before Duran’s 16th-minute opener with Rogers settling midway through the second half.
Phil Foden pulled one back in injury time for the four-time defending Premier League champions but they continue to look miles away from their best.
Despite their injuries, City were disorganized and could end the weekend as low as ninth in the Premier League table.
Guardiola left Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench, while Villa’s squad headlined with Duran’s inclusion ahead of Ollie Watkins.
The early odds are optimistic for Villa
The Colombian striker almost paid off boss Unai Emery inside 19 seconds. Josko Gvardiol held the ball out, allowing John McGinn to put Duran through on goal, but he took his shot too early and Stefan Ortega got down well to make the save.
The German excelled from the resulting corner, leaping to his left to push Pau Torres’ header onto the underside of the bar with the ball missing the line by millimetres.
City were all over the place defensively and it was no surprise when the deadlock was broken just after quarter of an hour.
The excellent Youri Tielemans picked out Rogers on the left and his unselfish cross was perfect for Duran to slot home.
John Duran opens the scoring and Aston Villa lead 🤩
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— Soccer 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 time on Villa’s right. His probing allowed Foden to fire a shot towards goal which brought out a fine save from Emiliano Martinez before Grealish himself saw an effort blocked by the Argentina keeper.
Walker replaced John Stones at the break but did little to stabilize the visitors’ backs with Cash missing a good chance within three minutes of the restart, shooting into the side netting instead of picking out a Villa shirt in the box.
Duran was disallowed for offside after 50 minutes before Rodgers fired against the base of the left-hand post with Guardiol again sluggish.
Rodgers punishes former club
A second goal seemed to be coming and it duly arrived after 65 minutes. This time it was former City man Rodgers after he started and finished a move that featured McGinn.
Morgan Rogers makes it 2-0 Aston Villa 🔥
Defensive woes continue for Manchester City 😳
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— Soccer on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024
Watkins was introduced for Duran and almost made an immediate impact, drawing a good save from Ortega with a low shot.
Foden grabbed his first league goal of the season in stoppage time, capitalizing on neat work from substitute Savinho, but it was little consolation for City whose woes continue.
