Aston Villa vs. Man City final score: Premier League result, stats as ...
Manchester City's terrible run continued as Aston Villa claimed a deserved 2-1 win to move above the champions in the Premier League table.
Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers struck in each half for the home side at a lively Villa Park, with Phil Foden's strike in second-half added time proving scant consolation for City and their commendable away support.
Pep Guardiola's side, beaten by Manchester United in last weekend's derby by the same scoreline, are now on a run of nine defeats in 12 games in all competitions and are without an away victory since October 20.
They could find themselves 12 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool by Christmas depending on results later this weekend.
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Aston Villa vs. Man City final score FulltimeGoal scorersAston Villa2Duran 16', Rogers 65'Man City1Foden 90+3'Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham
Referee: Peter Bankes
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Starting lineups:
Aston Villa (4-3-3, right to left): 23. Emiliano Martinez (GK) — 2. Matty Cash, 4. Ezri Konsa, 14. Pau Torres, 12. Lucas Digne — 8. Youri Tielemans, 44. Boubacar Kamara, 24. Amadou Onana — 7. John McGinn, 9. Jhon Duran (11. Ollie Watkins), 27. Morgan Rogers (10. Emi Buendia)
Man City (4-2-3-1, right to left): 18. Stefan Ortega (GK) — 82. Rico Lewis, 5. John Stones (2. Kyle Walker), 25. Manuel Akanji, 24. Josko Gvardiol — 19. Ilkay Gundogan (26. Savinho), 8. Mateo Kovacic (11. Jeremy Doku) — 20. Bernardo Silva, 47. Phil Foden, 10. Jack Grealish — 9. Erling Haaland
MORE: All the latest Man City news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
Villa had three golden chances to score inside the opening three minutes, Duran forcing a save from Stefan Ortega — in for the absent Ederson — before the City keeper produced a remarkable reflex save to stop the ball being glanced in from the resulting corner. Amadou Onana then headed over the bar from close range.
Duran made the most of his next opportunity, though, side-footing past Ortega after being set up by Rogers following a quite wonderful through ball from the outstanding Youri Tielemans.
City dominated possession in the first half but found little joy against Villa's organised defence, with a misdirected Josko Gvardiol header from Jack Grealish's cross the closest they game to an equaliser.
Villa took a more front-foot approach after halftime and should have doubled their lead before the hour. Matty Cash fired into the side netting instead of crossing for Boubacar Kamara for a tap-in, and Rogers drilled a shot off the outside of the left-hand post.
Rogers made no mistake with his next chance. Having started the move with a strong midfield run that left Mateo Kovacic for dead, he received a pass from John McGinn and fired a left-foot strike into the bottom-right corner, with Ortega motionless in his goal.
City heads seemed to drop and Villa looked the more likely to get the game's third goal, with substitute Ollie Watkins shooting straight at Ortega with a presentable opportunity. At the other end, Erling Haaland threw himself despairingly at a looping cross, having spent the whole game on the fringes.
Foden ended his long wait for a Premier League goal when he slotted past Emiliano Martinez after Lucas Digne had slipped on the loose ball in the Villa box, but by that stage, a comeback felt implausible.
City are now on a worse run of form than Erik ten Hag's Manchester United were before the Dutchman was sacked in late October. Guardiola will almost certainly not face the same fate, but quite how he turns things around this season is hard to fathom.
Aston Villa vs. Man City statsAston VillaStatMan City11Shots126Shots on target61.41Expected goals1.0344%Possession56%431Passes5255Corners414Fouls73Yellow cards33Offsides0Aston Villa vs. Man City live updates, highlights, and commentaryFulltimeThat's that! City don't have time for a comeback. It's yet another defeat for Guardiola's team.
90+2 mins: GOAL! FODEN GETS ONE BACK! Savinho runs well with the ball and finds his teammate, who has a shot blocked but gets the ball back thanks to Lucas Digne's slip. Foden then has a simple finish into the bottom-right corner. Can they rescue a result?
UK:
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024Canada:
— FuboCanada ???????? (@fuboTVCanada) December 21, 202490 mins: We'll have a minimum of four added minutes.
88 mins: Doku cuts the ball back towards a promising area of the box, but there's no City shirt nearby. The champions are running out of time here.
82 mins: Rogers races away from Walker and plays a reverse pass to substitute Ollie Watkins, who shots straight at Ortega on his weaker foot. Guardiola throws his hands up and turns away in disgust.
79 mins: Villa are on the hunt for a third goal. City are very passive without the ball right now. It's not a good watch for any fans.
72 mins: Savinho is on for Ilkay Gundogan as Guardiola rolls the dice to try to get back into this game.
65 mins: GOAL! NO MISTAKE FROM ROGERS THIS TIME! The outstanding Tielemans combines well with McGinn, who sets up Rogers to drill a low shot past the motionless Ortega. Villa are in complete control now!
Watch in USA:
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 21, 2024UK:
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024Canada:
— FuboCanada ???????? (@fuboTVCanada) December 21, 2024Australia:
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) December 21, 202460 mins: ROGERS HITS THE POST! Gvardiol isn't strong enough with a challenge in his own box and the ball falls kindly the Rogers, whose low shot crashes off the outside of the left-hand post. He should really have hit the target.
57 mins: Akanji is going to continue, although he doesn't look entirely comfortable.
56 mins: Akanji makes a good sliding challenge on Duran, and both men stay down. Akanji looks to have landed awkwardly on his shoulder. This is the last thing City need right now. Duran is back up and looks okay.
53 mins: Onana, who has looked a bit of a passenger in the Villa midfield at times today, accidentally stands on the back of Foden's ankle. That looked a painful one for the City man, although he's back up on his feet.
51 mins: Duran smashes a finish past Ortega after being played through by Tielemans, but the flag goes up, and the striker seemed to be expecting it. He was indeed offside, although not by a lot.
49 mins: BIG CHANCE WASTED BY CASH! More brilliant Tielemans work in midfield sets up another swift attack. McGinn plays it to the overlapping Cash, who blasts the ball into the side-netting of Ortega's goal when Kamara was waiting in the middle for a tap-in!
47 mins: Rico Lewis is booked for stopping Tielemans on the counter. The City man has moved to left-back, with Walker on the right of the defence and Gvardiol partnering Akanji in the centre.
Kickoff: Second halfCity have made a change at the break: Kyle Walker is on for John Stones.
HalftimeThe half ends as Grealish is halted by Cash again, and the City man then gets into a heated argument with Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who has gone into the book.
43 mins: BIG CHANCE FOR GVARDIOL! The defender leads a City break, finds Grealish and continues his run into the box. Grealish's cross lands right on the full-back's head, but he's stretching for the ball and can't keep his attempt on target.
41 mins: The game has entered a bit of a lull. City are still struggling to pick their way through Villa, and the hosts have had a couple of chances to break quickly without making the most of them.
35 mins: City offer a glimpse of what they can do at their best, with Foden and Lewis combining well with some slick passes, but Martinez is equal to the former's shot. Duran clears the first corner, and the second is rather wasted.
27 mins: Gvardiol plays a teasing cross towards Haaland, but Pau Torres is able to clear. City are focusing all their attacks down the left at the moment.
23 mins: We're back into City possession and deep Villa defending, but so far, the home side are quite comfortable. City haven't got the ball to Haaland in any dangerous positions yet.
16 mins: GOAL! DURAN PUTS VILLA AHEAD! The No. 9 has a simple side-footed finish from the middle of the box after Morgan Rogers had squared it. But that all came from a simply wonderful throughball from Youri Tielemans, who came to receive a pass from his goalkeeper, turned away from pressure, and threaded the ball quite magnificently through City's defence and into Rogers' path.
Watch in USA:
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 21, 2024UK:
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Aston Villa draw first blood and WHAT A GOAL it is!
Youri Tielemans with the pass. Morgan Rogers with the assist. And of course Jhon Duran with the finish.
It’s simply phenomenal from start to finish.
Watch | https://t.co/0RAhfpxmFO pic.twitter.com/riGLmNae3C
11 mins: City players ask for a penalty after a bit of tussling in the Villa box, but referee and VAR agree that there's nothing doing there. The visitors have settled now, but the hosts are defending their box well.
9 mins: Grealish has had a lively start against his old club. Villa fans cheer as he is felled by Matty Cash, but this is a free-kick in a decent position for City. Villa just about clear their lines in the end.
3 mins: Amadou Onana has a near free header and sends it over the bar. That's another chance gone for Villa, and we've only had three minutes!
2 mins: HOW HAS THAT STAYED OUT? The corner is glanced on and Ortega gets fingertips to the ball to claw it away at the near post, and Erling Haaland clears. The referee signals that the ball did not cross the line — but boy, that was close.
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 20241 min: VILLA SHOULD BE AHEAD! Josko Gvardiol is caught on the ball by John McGinn, and Jhon Duran has a clear run at goal. He tries a low shot from 25 yards out, and Stefan Ortega makes a good save to tip it behind. The Villa striker could have taken the ball closer to goal, there.
Kickoff: First halfHere we go!
5 mins before kickoff: Villa Park's traditional pyrotechnics are ongoing as the teams begin to make their way onto the pitch.
35 mins before kickoff: Guardiola told TNT Sports in the UK that Ederson "is not here, he doesn't feel good". He was happy to welcome back Stones and Akanji, though, despite a relative lack of preparation. "They trained two or three times," he said. "Of course, they are important players."
Arrived at Villa Park! ????#ManCity | #AsahiSuperDry pic.twitter.com/CMFNIXNKLr
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 21, 20241 hour before kickoff: Interesting team news for today: Jack Grealish starts against his old club, with Kevin De Bruyne on the bench. City are also able to welcome back Manuel Akanji to the defence, which actually looks solid on paper this time, although Ederson is not in the squad at all.
Villa look to be going 4-3-3, with Amadou Onana starting in an imposing-looking midfield. Jhon Duran leads the attack.
1 hour 30 mins before kickoff: Guardiola is hoping for at least one return from injury today in the form of Manuel Akanji, but the news of Ruben Dias’ weeks-long layoff was another blow in what is proving a hugely difficult season for the reigning champions.
2 hours before kickoff: City and Villa get us underway for this latest Premier League weekend — the first of the busy holiday season. Pep Guardiola may be used to the packed December schedule by now, but he is certainly not accustomed to reaching this point of the season with his team in such disarray: they have lost five of their most recent seven Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 67 matches combined.
Manchester City were leading 1-0 at 87:10, but less than two minutes later (89:06) Manchester United lead 2-1 in the derby.
Astonishing. pic.twitter.com/hTIBQ0b1Dx
This Premier League match kicks off in Birmingham, UK at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:
DateKickoff timeUSASat, Dec. 217:30 a.m. ETCanadaSat, Dec. 217:30 a.m. ETUKSat, Dec. 2112:30 p.m. GMTAustraliaSat, Dec. 2111:30 p.m. AEDTIndiaSat, Dec. 216:00 p.m. ISTAston Villa vs. Man City lineups, team newsVilla look to be going with a 4-3-3 set-up, with Amadou Onana coming into midfield to partner Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans. Matty Cash reverts to right-back, the Poland international having played on the wing during the defeat to Forest.
Emery does not expect Jacob Ramsey to be back from a muscle issue until early January, but Leon Bailey is back on the bench after recovering from a "small" thigh injury.
Tyrone Mings has sat out Villa's past three games in all competitions but is fit enough to make the matchday squad, having overcome an illness.
Aston Villa starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Martinez (GK) — Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne — Tielemans, Kamara, Onana — McGinn, Duran, Rogers
Aston Villa subs: Mings, Barkley, Buendia, Watkins, Nedeljkovic, Maatsen, Olsen, Bogarde, Bailey
MORE: All the latest EPL club news | Team-by-team Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
News that Ruben Dias is facing four weeks on the sidelines represents another body blow to Guardiola, although Manuel Akanji and John Stones returning to the lineup means City's defence looks much more robust than it has recently. Rico Lewis is available after a one-match suspension and comes straight back into the lineup in place of the under-fire Kyle Walker at right-back.
Jack Grealish starts against his former club, with Phil Foden the No. 10 in place of the benched Kevin De Bruyne. Goalkeeper Ederson "does not feel good", according to Guardiola, and is not in the matchdays squad.
Erling Haaland has scored just three times in 11 league matches, but despite speculation of a falling out with Guardiola, he leads the line.
Man City starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Ortega (GK) — Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol — Gundogan, Kovacic — Silva, Foden, Grealish — Haaland
Man City subs: Walker, Ake, Doku, De Bruyne, Savinho, Carson, Simpson-Pusey, O'Reilly, McAtee
Aston Villa vs. Man City live stream, TV channelHere's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:
RegionTVStreamingUSAUSA Network, UniversoFubo, NBC Sports app/site, Telemundo Deportes En VivoCanada—FuboUKTNT Sports 1discovery+Australia—Optus SportIndia—Disney+ Hotstar, JioTVIf you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more >
