Manchester City will head into Christmas with some serious problems to solve after their remarkable fall from grace continued at Villa Park this afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side have now recorded just one win in 12 games in all competitions after goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers gave Aston Villa a well-deserved three points.
In truth it could have been a much heavier defeat as City rode their luck before Duran’s 16th-minute opener with Rogers settling it 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 from their all-conquering best.
Despite their injuries, City were a disorganised shambles 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 team news was headlined by the inclusion of Duran ahead of Ollie Watkins.
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Early chances go begging for Villa
The Colombia striker almost repaid boss Unai Emery within 19 seconds. Josko Gvardiol dallied on the ball, allowing John McGinn to nip in and set Duran clear 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 on to the underside of the bar with the ball failing to cross the line by millimetres.
City were all over the place defensively and it came as no surprise when the deadlock was broken shortly after the quarter-hour mark.
The outstanding Youri Tielemans picked out Rogers down the left and his unselfish cross was perfect for Duran to fire into the net.
Jhon Duran opens the scoring and Aston Villa lead 🤩
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/RvI7nQl6cs
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024
Jack Grealish, who played the part of pantomime villain against his former club, was City’s only bright spark as he gave Matty Cash a torrid time down Villa’s right flank. His probing enabled Foden to fire a shot on goal that brought a fine save from Emiliano Martinez before Grealish himself saw an effort blocked by the Argentina goalkeeper.
Walker replaced John Stones at the break but it did little to solidify the visitors’ backine with Cash wasting a fine opportunity within three minutes of the restart, shooting into the side netting instead of picking out a Villa shirt in the box.
Duran had a goal disallowed for offside after 50 minutes before Rogers fired against the base of the left post with Gvardiol again sluggish.
Rogers punishes former club
A second goal seemed to be coming and it duly arrived after 65 minutes. This time it was former City man Rogers on target after he started and finished a move that saw him played in by McGinn.
Morgan Rogers makes it 2-0 Aston Villa 🔥
The defensive problems continue for Man City 😳
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/vuutXbzjas
— Football 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 did manage to net his first league goal of the season in injury time, capitalising on some neat work from substitute Savinho but it was scant consolation for City whose woes continue.
