Aston Villa deepened Manchester City’s struggles with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, leaving Pep Guardiola’s champions in crisis after their ninth defeat in 12 matches across all competitions.
Jhon Duran opened the scoring for Aston Villa with a clinical finish following a slick team move, while Morgan Rogers doubled their lead in the 65th minute. Phil Foden’s stoppage-time goal offered a glimmer of hope for City, but it came too late to prevent another disappointing result.
This defeat marks Guardiola’s worst-ever run as a manager, with City now losing six Premier League matches this season—double their losses from the entirety of last season when they secured their fourth consecutive title.
Aston Villa leapfrogged City into fifth place in the Premier League table, while the champions slid to sixth, nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.
Despite the grim statistics, Guardiola remains optimistic, backing his players to turn their season around. Speaking to reporters, he said, “The solution is to bring the players back. We have just one central defender fit, and that is difficult.”
He added, “I have incredible trust in the guys. Some of them have immense pride and desire. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later, to come back.”
Guardiola made six changes to the side that lost the Manchester derby, but City started shakily, with goalkeeper Stefan Ortega forced into an early save to deny Duran. Villa dominated the opening exchanges, capitalising on defensive errors by City.
Duran struck in the 16th minute after Youri Tielemans’ brilliant through ball set Rogers free to assist the Colombian international, who scored his seventh league goal of the season.
While City enjoyed 75% possession in the first half, they struggled to create meaningful chances, with Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez denying Foden and Josko Gvardiol wasting a golden opportunity before halftime.
Guardiola introduced Kyle Walker after the break, but Villa maintained control. Matty Cash and Duran both threatened before Rogers, a former City academy player, hit the post and later doubled Villa’s lead from a John McGinn pass.
City’s attack continued to falter until Foden scored a late consolation goal, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome. Villa manager Unai Emery praised his side’s performance, saying, “We played the first half very well. In the second half, we kept more possession and imposed ourselves.”
Villa’s win showcased their growing strength under Emery, while City now face mounting pressure to rescue their faltering season.
