After an intense first 45 minutes, Manchester City found the breakthrough early in the second half before strolling to a 3-0 home victory over Aston Villa.
It wasn’t a perfect day at the office, but Manchester City got the job done at home following an excellent second half against Aston Villa. The Blues moved up to second in the table and three points off of Liverpool following Leicester City’s stunning 9-0 win over Southampton on Friday.
Dean Smith’s Villa put up a real fight in the first half, stifling City’s attack to go into the break level. However, it took just 21 seconds into the second half for the home side to find the breakthrough from Raheem Sterling, who has scored 13 goals in his last 14 matches in all competitions this season.
Kevin de Bruyne would double the advantage with an intended cross that curled in at the far post that came with a bit of controversy, as the ball may have touched David Silva who was in an offside position.
İlkay Gündoğan had another brilliant game in the holding midfield role, dictating much of the tempo in attack and getting his goal in the second half to cap off arguably his best performance of the season. Villa did have some chances in the match, most notably from former City midfielder Douglas Luiz, but Ederson was up to the task to preserve his fifth clean sheet in the league this season.
There would be some drama late, as emergency center-back Fernandinho was sent off for a second yellow card. Although this wouldn’t have much of an impact on the final result in this fixture, the Brazilian’s impending suspension leaves manager Pep Guardiola with an interesting predicament in terms of who to partner with John Stones in the coming matches. Rodri will be out into November with a hamstring injury, while Nicolás Otamendi is still in the process of returning to fitness.
Youth product Eric García could get his opportunity in either of the next two fixtures against Southampton, one in the League Cup and the other in the league, both at the Etihad.
Overall, it was a solid second half performance from City, who were full value for the three points at home today. Following the Villa win, City will face Southampton twice in a row at home, once in midweek and the other the following weekend. The Blues will look to continue gaining ground on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, who face Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.