The EPL is becoming more exciting in the middle of the season. On Saturday, table topper Arsenal lost two crucial points as they tied against Brentford FC. The result made a great chance for Man City to close the gap with Arsenal. And last night, Manchester City did it. They beat Aston Villa by a 3-1 margin to go three points behind Arsenal.
Match Report
At Etihad Stadium, Manchester City hosted Aston Villa last night. Fans of Man City heavily criticized the club last night after the club was accused of not being honest about its financial situation. The City fans made a chant last night, saying, “We Are Man City, We Will Cheat When We Want.”
However, Pep Guardiola was very focused on the game and didn’t make a response to the criticism. He made several changes in the starting XI, playing only three players in defense. Guardiola played his team in a 3-2-4-1 formation. On the other hand, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery set up the team formation with a 4-4-2 formation.
However, Manchester City took the lead early in the match. Riyad Mahrez took a corner kick, which Rodri converted into a goal in the 4th minute. Soon afterward, both teams sought to score, but Manchester City doubled their lead just before halftime. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan found the net with Haaland’s assist in the 39th minute.
Moreover, The home team got a penalty kick in the injury time of the first half. Riyad Mahrez stepped in to take the kick and scored successfully. Therefore, the first half ended at 3-0.
Coming back from the break, Manchester City made some changes. The manager pulled off Haaland and deployed Julian Alvarez. But Manchester City failed to score more in the 2nd half, where Aston Villa returned one in the 61st minute. But it helped nothing to stop Man City from getting three points.
Guardiola talked about Haaland’s injury
Erling Haaland got a knock and couldn’t continue in the 2nd half. Man City boss Pep Guardiola gave updates on him after the match. He said, “Erling has a kick, and we will see. We will assess him in the next few days to see how severe it is.”
The manager added, “I think he’s not injured but tomorrow we will see. Hopefully he can play there on Wednesday. If he’s not ready or it’s a risk he’s not going to play.”