“Villa Till I Die”, was proudly belted around all corners of B6 as Aston Villa produced a battling performance in our 1-2 defeat to Manchester City.
Ruben Dias opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark firing low from distance past Emi Martinez before a City counter-attack was ended with a world-class volley from Bernardo Silva. 0-2 at the break.
A superbly worked corner routine saw Ollie Watkins fire home in front of The Hotle End to give Villa hope of a fightback, and Carney Chukwuemeka almost sent Villa Park into a sea of limbs, but his effort was denied by Ederson.
STARTING LINE-UP
Formation 4-3-3
Emi Martinez – 6
After denying Cancelo from close range earlier on, the goalkeeper wasn’t tested for the remainder of the game, bar the two Manchester City goals.
Some sloppy passing after attempting to play out from the back was the number one’s only criticism from the first half, and with Villa on top in the second, it was a relatively quiet display from the Argentine. Liam Davies
Matty Cash – 7
I think Cash did well against Sterling, which was undoubtedly a tricky battle for 90 minutes. He was also keen to get forward and didn’t put a foot wrong, but disappointing to concede two goals in the first half. Hannah Gowen
Ezri Konsa – 7
Another good showing against a City side who are levels above every team in this league bar Liverpool.
Many great blocks, tackles and interceptions which comes hand in hand with Konsa each game. Surely Gareth Southgate has him on his radar. Gary Plaza
Tyrone Mings – 6.5
Grew into the game after a defensive mix-up for Silva’s stunner. Imperious in the air and a real threat in both boxes. Asked to play out from the back against a really tricky Man City press and did so with increasing success as the night progressed. Overall, a decent performance from the skipper against an exceptional front three. Joey Millington
Matt Targett – 6
A solid display from the left-back who was up against a tricky Riyad Mahrez all game. The Algerian winger never really got the better of the Aston Villa defender who looks back to his best under Steven Gerrard. The second goal stemmed from a counter-attack down the left with Targett finding himself too far forward in search for an equaliser. Nothing special, but a good showing from the Villa number three. Liam Davies
Marvelous Nakamba – 7.5
Another huge effort from Nakamba, provided great energy and bite to the midfield.
Making this position and role his own under Steven Gerrard. Ryan Mckeown
John McGinn – 7
A quieter game for McGinn but he did well to support defensively throughout the game and completed forward passes when needed, holding off City players in the centre of the park and winning fouls. Hannah Gowen
Douglas Luiz – 8
Whilst Man City, even in an ‘emergency’, are hardly spoiled for choice in midfield areas, Luiz showed that City’s loss is Villa’s gain. The Brazilian dragged his side back into contention in the second half, his assist for Watkins was clever and his work-rate in the latter stages of the game was relentless. Did a lot of good work in a floating eight role on the left. Like many others, had looked shaky at times early on but improved throughout the match and benefitted from the freedom afforded by having the protection of Nakamba behind him. Joey Millington
Superb for me. Personally thought it was one of his better performances in a Villa shirt and he needed it after being brought in for the impressive Ramsey. It was refreshing to see him play a more aggressive and attacking role. Very unlucky not to release Young through on goal early in the 2nd half. Gary Plaza
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Emi Buendia – 5
Once again, a reasonably underwhelming performance from the record signing, who showed signs of trickery and flair, but lacked when it really mattered. On a number of occasions we saw Buendia manoeuvre his way into threatening positions, but the number ten failed to deliver that killer pass into a teammate when the home side passed the Man City midfield line. Another frustrating night for the Argentine. Liam Davies
Leon Bailey – 4
Pulled up in front of The Holte End; which Gerrard confirmed after the game to be a thigh issue, putting a premature end to his night. It has been a one step forward, two steps back season for Bailey so far!
Got himself into some good positions in the time he was on the field, but his final ball was woefully wasteful. Ryan Mckeown
Ollie Watkins – 8
My man of the match on the night, Watkins ran his socks off for 90 minutes and held up the ball brilliantly in battles with Ake. A cracking finish for the goal early second half and caused problems at times. Hannah Gowen
Substitutions:
Ashley Young (on for Bailey, 30th minute) – 7
Replaced the injured Bailey and once again his experience proved invaluable.
Young used the ball well, was calm in possession and guided those around him. Excellent! Ryan Mckeown
Carney Chukwuemeka (on for Targett, 66 minutes) – 6
What a chance to erupt Villa Park, the 18-year-old was played in by Buendia after continuing his run into the box but fired straight at Ederson. Ryan Mckeown
Morgan Sanson (on for Nakamba, 77 minutes) – 6
A first Premier League appearance of the season for Sanson.
Sanson is a player who could be a real asset for our club, fingers crossed he can stay fit and get a good run of minutes under his belt – have we now got options and competition in midfield? Yes we have! Ryan Mckeown
Subs not used: Jed Steer, Axel Tuanzebe, Anwar El Ghazi, Kortney Hause, Keinan Davis, Jacob Ramsey.
Steven Gerrard – 8
Team selection was solid. It was brave to drop Ramsey and Young after they both played so well against Palace.
City’s press is relentless and we struggled up until the end of the first half but our passing also added to this. Second half subs of Chukwumeka and Sanson were great to see.
Chuk almost grabbed what would’ve been a deserved equaliser but it wasn’t to me. In 3 games we already have an identity and even in todays defeat i cannot wait for Sunday. Gary Plaza
Goals:
Aston Villa: Watkins (47)
Man City: Dias (27), Bernardo Silva (43)
Opposition:
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Zinchenko; Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho; Mahrez, Jesus (Grealish, 87), Sterling.
Subs not used: Carson, Steffen, Foden, Mbete, Palmer, McAtee, Lavia, Wilson-Esbrand.
OLLIE WATKINS GOAL
PLAYER REACTION
THE BOSS
UP NEXT
Leicester City | H | Sunday 5th December 2021 | 16:30
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