Manchester City edge past Aston Villa to make it nine wins in a row

Dean Smith’s Aston Villa side will travel back to Birmingham feeling hard done by after controversy regarding Manchester City’s opening goal scored by Bernardo Silva in the 79^th minute.

Man City extend their winning run to nine games across all competitions and move up to first place, having seen a resurgence in form including John Stones impressing for the Citizens, the title race is heating up across the North West.

Joao Cancelo and Phil Foden starred in an exhilarating game having Villa defender Matty Cash on the ropes in the opening 45 minutes, but a solid defensive performance will be overlooked for the Villans.

Cancelo showcased his talent having moved from left back to right back following Kyle Walker’s early injury, the Portuguese international eased between his defensive and attacking duties. Transitioning at times into the City midfield when going forward, the 26-year-old pulled the strings for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Villa remained a threat for the entirety of the clash, whilst looking threatening on the counter-attack through Bertrand Traore and former City man Douglas Luiz.

Before this match, Villa had only conceded twice in their last six league games.

Ross Barkley also featured for the first time since November 21^st for Villa, creating a number of big chances for Smith’s side. Barkley appeared to look a little off the pace but played a positive part in the Villans’ defeat.

Meanwhile, Foden created a number of problems for the Villa defence down the left wing, beating his man with ease. However, the England international couldn’t find the back of the net.

As the game looked to be ending as the one of the most entertaining goalless draws of recent times, Bernardo Silva rifled home from the edge of the area. Much of the post-match talk will focus on VAR’s role in the goal as replays appeared to show Rodri returning from an offside position before winning possession and feeding the Portuguese attacker to score.

Referee Jon Moss showed a red card to Smith after the Villa manager complained about the incident, Smith continued to complain at the referee subsequently leading to his dismissal.

The Villa manager shared his thoughts with MOTD stating that:

“I thought they would go over to the VAR screen. I saw the incident and saw it was kicking off, so I asked the fourth officials did they get juggling balls for Christmas.”

In what was an exciting fixture between both sides, the Citizens’ strength in depth proved costly for Villa. Guardiola’s side eventually broke down the well-shaped defence of the Villans with the perseverance paying off.

A late penalty would add another to the scoreline as Ilkay Gundogan dispatched from 12 yards after Cash was adjudged to have handled in the area.

Emi Martinez played a key part into keeping the scoreline as low as only 2-0, with both sides rifling forward creating chance after chance. Martinez denied John Stones from a corner-kick, but the ball managed to evade the on rushing Gundogan.

Next up, Villa host Newcastle United managed by former Villa boss Steve Bruce, in which is a must win game for the Villans who will be without Smith on the side-lines barking his orders.

Whilst Man City travel down south for FA Cup action against League Two minnows, Cheltenham Town.

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