Manchester City vs Aston Villa. Premier League.
Etihad StadiumAttendance54,506.
City reduce gap at top of Premier League to three points for 24 hours at least before Liverpool vs Tottenham on Super Sunday
Saturday 26 October 2019 22:49, UK
Manchester City put on a second-half show to see off Aston Villa 3-0 at the Etihad in the Premier League, reducing the gap to Liverpool to three points for 24 hours at least.
City struck inches wide on two occasions in a goalless first half through Gabriel Jesus and David Silva, but within seconds of the restart, Raheem Sterling had slotted home his sixth goal in four games for club and country (46).
David Silva then got the slightest touch on Kevin De Bruyne's cross for a controversial second after a VAR review for a potential Sterling offside (65) - with the Premier League later awarding the goal to the Spaniard after initially giving it to De Bruyne - but there was nothing contentious about Ilkay Gundogan's half-volley for 3-0 (70).
Fernandinho was dismissed late on for a needless second yellow card (87), but the result means City make up ground on Liverpool, who host Tottenham on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League at 4.30pm.
Villa were as long as 30/1 with some bookmakers to win at the Etihad, among the longest odds ever seen for a team before kick-off in Premier League history, but they held their own in a goalless first half.
Predictably, most of the ball and chances fell to City in the opening 45 minutes, the first seeing Gabriel Jesus flash wide on the turn as Villa routinely struggled to clear their lines.
Villa used their pace on the break to good effect though; John McGinn's curling effort from the edge forced Ederson to parry, but Villa appealed for a penalty as Douglas Luiz went down under pressure from Joao Cancelo, only for VAR to deem the challenge fair.
The best chance of the half fell to Silva, collecting a pass from Sterling from the left, only to drag inches wide left-footed unmarked from 12 yards as the Etihad expected to see the net bulge.
But City came alive after the break. Before the clock turned to 46 minutes, a long ball upfield saw Jesus win an aerial battle with Tyrone Mings, flicking on for Sterling to slot left-footed under Tom Heaton.
Mings then did his best to keep the score down, clearing superbly off the line as Jesus' effort deflected off Heaton, but it was soon 2-0 in contentious circumstances.
From a short corner, De Bruyne's curling cross from the left somehow found its way through a crowd of shirts and in at the far post, with Sterling, who was inside the six-yard box and in front of Heaton, deemed onside by VAR. But replays showed the ball touched Silva's boot on its way through, meaning Sterling would have been offside from that touch, and potentially deemed to be interfering with play in front of Heaton.
Around an hour after the final whistle, the Premier League confirmed the goal had been awarded to Silva instead of De Bruyne. If that decision had been made during play, Sterling would have been found offside and the goal ruled out.
Gundogan made it 3-0 with a clever half volley through the crowd from 12 yards as the ball fell kindly to him, but City's day ended on a sour note as Fernandinho was dismissed for a silly second yellow card, before Ederson brilliantly diverted a low McGinn drive onto the post.
City eventually looked like champions and found a way, with Sterling in particular at his dazzling best as the pressure and attention now turns to Anfield.
Pep Guardiola: "I give credit to Aston Villa. In the first half we played football but we did not play football in the way we should play. In the second half we were better. I don't know if the early goal helped us do that but after that we played how we normally play. We have to play for the 90 minutes. We played just for 45.
"Of course, six days ago we were eight points [behind Liverpool] now we are three. That is a good experience for us. They have to play against Tottenham tomorrow. But I am not concerned about the table, I am concerned about the way that we played.
"If we play like we did in the second half, we will be there at the end of the season, I am sure of that. If we play how we played in the first half, we will be relegated in the relegation positions far away from the top of the table."
Dean Smith: "We knew what to expect here against a Manchester City team with top players. But we also showed enterprise when we got the ball back and with the attacking transitions that allowed us to get on the front foot. We were the happier team at half-time and I wanted more of the same but 45 seconds in and the hard work is undone.
"For all Manchester City's intricate football this was a 70-yard punt from the goalkeeper and defensively we didn't deal with it. Tyrone should have dealt with the header but if he doesn't then Bjorn and Fred should have been in a better position to deal with that."
by Adam Bate
Manchester City looked irresistible in that 25 minute period during the second half in which they blew Aston Villa away with three goals. Interestingly, Liverpool have not scored three goals in a single half of a Premier League game since the opening weekend - when City put four past West Ham during the second half of a 5-0 away victory.
Pep Guardiola's team even managed to score three or more in each half of the 8-0 win at home to Watford and just as they showed against Atalanta in midweek, when City click they really click. This is a team that has scored five or more goals in a game on nine occasions in 2019 - something European champions and league leaders Liverpool have done only twice.
The problem for Manchester City is what happens in between these periods when the opposition appears left with no choice but to wilt in the face of their constant pressure. Given their previous failure to find the net in the 2-0 home defeat to Wolves, the inability to score in the opening 45 minutes here made it three halves in a row without a goal.
It cost them against Wolves and as Dean Smith pointed out in the post-match press conferences, Villa hinted at doing the same. They had several opportunities to run at the Manchester City defence when they managed to collect possession behind the otherwise excellent Ilkay Gundogan. Stopping those transitions is becoming a challenge for City.
Their defensive issues can sometimes feel overplayed - it is now eight clean sheets for Guardiola's team in all competitions this season compared to Liverpool's total of three. But with the City boss short of options at the back he appears acutely aware that it is going to be a battle to navigate a path through this tricky period of the season.
City now host Southampton in the Carabao Cup round of 16 at 7.45pm on Tuesday evening again, and then face the Saints again on Saturday at 3pm in the Premier League. Villa host Wolves on Wednesday evening in the Carabao Cup round of 16 at 7.45pm, and then welcome Liverpool on Saturday at 3pm in the Premier League.
