Weakened Villa thrashed by Manchester City

If you asked me yesterday afternoon if I thought we could beat Manchester City at the Etihad I would have said no. Having said that, I felt we could have given them a game.

Well, that was until the team news came out at 7.15 pm yesterday. Unai Emery opted to rest a lot of his stronger side and although Pep Guardiola decided to rest Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bryne, it was still a strong-looking City side.

Villa fans have taken it in different ways. Some were upset at the thought that we rolled over before a ball was kicked while others felt it was worth resting players so they are fit for the upcoming games. I must admit I was and I still am disappointed. It had Martin O’Neill against CSKA Moscow vibes about it but if we go on to beat Brentford the weekend, it will be all forgotten about. If we don’t? well, I don’t bear to think about that.

Anyway, let’s take a look at the match and how, in the words of many media outlets today, “A city side without Haaland and De Bryne ripped Villa to shreds” (no mention of how weak Villa were).

Report: Manchester City 4-1 Aston Villa

It’s hard to take anything away from Phil Foden who made the game all about him and what a talent he is. I can talk about the Villa line-up all day but you can only beat what is in front of you and the England youngster made it the Foden show.

It took the home side just eleven minutes to take the lead when Foden fed Jeremy Doku down the line before he cut inside and laid the ball off for Rodri who fired past Aston Villa keeper Robin Olsen.

I am sure I wasn’t alone when I feared for the worst at this point but Villa shocked an already quiet Etihad when they pulled the game level. Jhon Durán linked up with Morgan Rodgers with a one-two before finishing with ease in a beautiful move.

City continued to dominate but Villa were equal to everything they threw at them until Douglas Luiz, one of four players who played in the 1-0 win over City in December, made a poor foul just outside the box.

Foden stepped up and fired from the resulting free-kick through the wall as Ezri Konsa and Nicolò Zaniolo parted like the Red Sea to give the home side the lead going into the half-time break.

Villa could have made more of the game had Luiz or Clement Lenglet taken their chances but saves from Stefen Ortega prevented any chance of that and as the clock ticked it was only a matter of time for the Champions.

Just after the hour mark, Rodri picked out Foden who found the bottom corner to make it 3-1 and he wasn’t done there. Moments later, he jumped onto a loose ball following a mix-up by Villa to make it four.

Although they have not been the City of last year, they are still my favourites to win it come the end of the season.

Up Next

Villa will host Brentford at Villa Park on Saturday as Villa fans will hope to see a much stronger line-up and a return to winning ways.

Manchester City will take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the early kick-off Saturday.