Manchester City boosted their chances of a top-four finish in the Premier League on Saturday with a thrilling 3-2 win over Aston Villa.
The champions looked in control with 25 minutes remaining thanks to strikes from Sergio Aguero and Aleksandar Kolarov, but Villa fought back as Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez made it 2-2 late on.
However, City made sure of the three points a couple of minutes from time when Fernandinho popped up in the box to smash the ball past Brad Guzan.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the action on an entertaining evening at the Etihad Stadium.
Match statistics
MAN CITY
Shots: 11
On target: 4
Possession: 45%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 13
ASTON VILLA
Shots: 13
On target: 4
Possession: 55%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 11
Was the result fair?
Aston Villa can count themselves extremely unlucky not to have come away with a point. The visitors did brilliantly to get themselves back in the match after going 0-2 down, but some sloppy defending at the end cost them against a persistent Manchester City side.
Man City's performance
Manuel Pellegrini's side have been out of sorts in the past few weeks, and this performance suggested that their malaise is not going to end any time soon. They were gifted the lead early on, but they struggled to get going after that. A lack of intent was their main problem, while they also found it hard to remain consistent amid the backdrop of a quiet Etihad Stadium. They occasionally showed flashes of what they are capable of going forward, with David Silva, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero all linking well, though these moments only happened rarely. There are still big questions over how solid they are at the back as well, as Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala often looked shaky when it came to dealing with Christian Benteke. While the record will show that City earned the three points, this was a hugely insipid display.
Aston Villa's performance
Villa's evening got off to a disastrous start when Brad Guzan handed Sergio Aguero the game's opening goal on a plate, but they did well to recover after such a disappointing setback. The visitors were patient and assured, while their incisive attacking play had City worried on multiple occasions. Meanwhile, they played with their usual bite in defence and midfield as the likes of Fabian Delph and Carlos Sanchez took control of things. Having deservedly got themselves back on level terms after being 0-2 behind, it was a lack of concentration that cost them in the end. Tim Sherwood will probably be feeling gutted that they were not able to hold on, but he can take a huge amount of encouragement from this display. More of the same fighting spirit in their final games and the Villans should be fine.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Christian Benteke: Proved to be a handful for the Manchester City defence all evening with his physical approach. The Belgian's finishing was unimpressive, but he caused the hosts all sorts of problems with his power and movement. He won almost every cross and long ball that came his way, which was a big bonus for the visitors. They will need him in this kind of defiant form during the final few weeks of the season.
Biggest gaffe
Only one winner here. Brad Guzan had an absolute shocker inside the opening few minutes when his misjudged pass allowed Sergio Aguero to score the opening goal of the match. The Aston Villa goalkeeper should have just lumped the ball upfield instead of trying to keep possession in such a dangerous area.
Referee performance
Mike Dean had a mixed evening at the Etihad Stadium. While he allowed the game to flow more often than not, a couple of poor decisions stand out. Manchester City could easily have had a penalty when Sergio Aguero was dragged down in the box, but the official instead allowed play to continue. Meanwhile, Villa were denied a good opportunity to score in the second half. when Christian Benteke was wrongly flagged for offside, though it is hard to blame Dean for that.
What next?
Man City: The champions are back in Premier League action on May 3 with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Aston Villa: The Villans continue their bid for Premier League survival on May 2 when they host Everton.
Jack Prescott
