Pep Guardiola’s reaction tells you just how important finishing in the top five is for Manchester City. That second half against Aston Villa was brilliant.
Man City’s season has been a miserable one without Rodri, there is no doubt about that, but Guardiola might view finishing third and winning the FA Cup as one of his greatest achievements, considering how poor this group was before Christmas.
Beating Aston Villa was crucial in their quest for Champions League football in 2025/26. And although they left it late to score the winner, it was a deserved three points. City dominated for most of the match and were well on top in the second half.
Unai Emery thought his players had done enough to grind out a gigantic point but Matheus Nunes’ finish at the back post lifted City into third above Nottingham Forest, while Villa sit bottom of the top-five candidates, having played a game more than Chelsea, Newcastle and Forest.
A draw wouldn’t just have earned them a potentially pivotal point – it also would’ve denied their direct rivals an extra two. But it wasn’t to be, and the reactions of both Guardiola and Emery tells you everything you need to know about the importance of Tuesday’s match. It’s a massive win with major implications in the race for Champions League qualification.
City did deserve the three points but there were Aston Villa positives in the shape of Marcus Rashford, who was always going to have a big say in this fixture.
He proved once again that £40million is a ‘risk’ worth taking. The Manchester United loanee looks sharper with every appearance for Villa, and his performance at the Etihad should be enough to convince competent clubs he’s worth taking a chance on.
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At £40m, he’s not too expensive a gamble for the likes of Villa, Arsenal, Newcastle, Tottenham, or dare I say, Liverpool – clubs that know they could end up with a world-class forward if he’s motivated and coached properly.
In fact, if Rashford were on loan at Villa from any other Premier League side, we’d probably be saying he could do a job for Manchester United – even if they’ve become something of a graveyard for supposed elite talent.
Rashford was clearly motivated for the Villans’ trip to Manchester and looked positive and confident every time he touched the ball in the opening 45 minutes. He struck the inside of the post in the first minute and got a goal from the penalty spot in the 18th minute to equalise after Bernardo Silva’s goal that might have actually been an Emiliano Martinez own goal.
Given the fallout at Old Trafford, nobody knew what to expect from Rashford at Villa Park but three months on, there is no doubt that it has been the perfect transfer for all three parties. United clearly want rid of him and his huge £300,000 weekly salary, Rashford is proving himself again and is back in the England squad, while Villa have made a brilliant cost-effective option to significantly boost their chances of finishing in the top five. There is no doubt Emery’s side has improved following his arrival.
Villa will certainly consider signing the 27-year-old permanently and for £40m, they could do a lot worse. The same applies to Arsenal, who need to freshen things up in attack. There is no doubt in my mind that Rashford can be a superb signing for any top club that is not a complete basket case. Let’s be real, £40m for someone with his quality is nothing nowadays.
Rashford’s penalty was cool, beating City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in a game of chicken to equalise after Silva’s goal.
The opener came from Omar Marmoush on the left, clearly and justifiably feeling confident about his individual battle with Matty Cash. His pull-back was turned in by Silva, though there was a huge help from Ezri Konsa’s deflection. Martinez did not cover himself in glory and the dubious goals committee will no doubt be scrutinising that goal the next time they meet up.
The penalty won by Jacob Ramsey for a Ruben Dias foul wasn’t given in real time by referee Craig Pawson, who stopped play to review the incident on the VAR monitor.
In fairness to Pawson, it looked like nothing in real time but Dias’s knee clearly collided with Ramsey’s leg after some clever attacking play to help initiate the contact. It was definitely a penalty but the home fans voiced their disagreement when a replay was shown on the big screen. It is obviously a conspiracy.
Rashford’s 18th-minute penalty looked like it earned Villa a point but up popped Nunes at the back post in the 94th minute. The goal came from Jeremy Doku’s brilliance off the bench, beating another substitute, Axel Disasi, before sending a trivela into the danger zone. Nunes was well positioned to convert at the back post and the extra two points he earned might be enough to pay back the £45m City paid to sign him from Wolves.
There is no doubt that third in the league would be a huge disappointment for Guardiola’s side but the first half of the season means it will be a huge achievement.
Guardiola’s reaction proves it and he will also be delighted by the performances of James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly, who might be attracting more attention if fellow young attacking midfielder-turned-left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly weren’t shining even brighter for Arsenal.
City are not quite going on ‘one of those runs’ to secure third but they are just doing enough, leaving it a little late at times, but getting the results to deal with the pressure from Villa, Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea.
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