Aston Villa stunned Manchester City with a 1-0 victory at Villa Park on Sunday, ending Pep Guardiola’s side’s nine-match unbeaten run across all competitions. Matty Cash’s first-half goal was enough to secure Villa’s fourth consecutive Premier League win, much to the delight of their manager Unai Emery, who marked his third anniversary in charge with the memorable result.
The win also marked a significant achievement for Villa, who moved up to seventh place in the Premier League standings, while City now trails leaders Arsenal by six points.
Villa took control early in the match after City came close in the sixth minute, with Tijjani Reijnders firing just over the bar. However, Villa responded strongly. In the 19th minute, a short corner from Emiliano Buendia found Cash at the edge of the box. The Polish international controlled the ball before unleashing a brilliant low shot into the bottom corner, giving Villa the lead.
City, despite dominating possession, struggled to find an equaliser. Just three minutes after Villa’s goal, Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s top scorer, had a chance to level the score, but his shot was too close to Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Villa continued to threaten, with John McGinn’s shot deflecting off John Stones and Ollie Watkins narrowly missing a free header from the subsequent corner. In the second half, Villa pressed for a second goal. Jadon Sancho, introduced after Buendia was forced off due to injury, nearly doubled Villa’s lead in the 69th minute, but City’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma denied him with two excellent saves.
City pushed forward relentlessly, and in the 89th minute, they thought they had equalised when Haaland slid in at the far post, but the goal was ruled out for offside after Phil Foden was judged to be in an offside position during the build-up.
