Aston Villa vs Manchester City : Bernardo Silva makes the difference in 2-1 win over the Lions
By Zoheb Alam
Manchester City continued their brilliant run in the Premier League as they picked up a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Thursday. After 90 minutes at Villa Park, City were able to extract an easy victory courtesy of goals from Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva.
Despite playing away from home, Guardiola’s side was still expected to dominate against the Villains. From the first whistle of the game, the Cityzens had displayed utmost discipline and control in all fronts of the game. Raheem Sterling did try to unsettle the hosts with some decent attacking runs but was unable to bring glory for his side.
However, Ruben Dias did help his team go 1-0 up in the first half as he was set up by a neat cross by his teammate Sterling, which was later converted from close range by the tall Portuguese center-back.
Steven Gerrard’s men were handed a second blow before the half-time whistle as Bernardo Silva scored an exquisite volley after being tied up by an excellent floating pass by Jesus.
In the second half, Aston Villa responded to City’s two-goal lead with a fine goal as striker Ollie Watkins scored from a David Luiz corner to pull one back for his team.
Gabriel Jesus was in the thick of things for the Sky Blues as he made some solid contributions in the final third, creating a couple of strong chances for his side in the space of 10 minutes.
The last five minutes of the match was feisty as both teams tried to get a foothold of the game. There were good attacking chances on both ends but in the end, there wasn’t much success for either of the sides.
In the end, Manchester City were able to get over the line as they secured a 2-1 win over the Lions. City boss Guardiola was delighted to hear the full-time whistle and probably was happy with his team’s performance at Villa Park.
This latest win away from home ensures that the Cityzens remain second in the league table. After this intense outing, the defending champions are scheduled to travel to Vicarage road for their next league assignment against Watford.