A Phil Foden masterclass saw a rotated Manchester City ease past Aston Villa’s depleted eleven.
The clinical Citizens took the game away from the Villians with some outrageous finishing. Rodri gave City the lead after just ten minutes, with the Sky Blues playing some beautiful football before Rodri unleashed an absolute rocket of a strike inside the Villa box, leaving Olsen without a chance.
It didn’t take long for Villa to find a leveller with some fantastic football, rounded off with an excellent finish from Jhon Durán, getting the side from the Midlands back in the game.
However, just before halftime, the Phil Foden show began. A superb free-kick saw Nicolò Zaniolo squirm and break the wall, leaving Olsen rooted and putting City ahead.
In the second half, Foden found two goals in the space of seven minutes, which secured him the matchball and, more importantly, his side all three points as they remain firmly in the hunt for the title.
The scoreline didn’t necessarily reflect the game, with conceding four goals feeling a little harsh on the Villa defence.
Here are the player ratings from this evening's clash.
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Manchester City
Stefan Ortega - 8
Made a fantastic save at 2-1 to deny Luiz levelling the affair. Wasn’t often called into action, but when he was, the German keeper always got his side out of trouble.
Rico Lewis - 8
Linked up well with Alvarez when attacking. Dropped into midfield from fullback when City went forwards and always seemed a threat. Defensively solid and made everything he did look easy.
Ruben Dias - 8
Always looked in control, rarely misplaced a pass. Defensively sound, faultless all evening.
Manuel Akanji - 8
Villa failed to get a peep out of him all evening. A defensive masterclass.
Joško Gvardiol - 8
A strong defensive display. He handled everything that Villa threw at him with ease. As always, he was ridiculously comfortable on the ball.
Rodri - 9
Gave City the lead in the tenth minute after an excellent run rounded off with a wonderful finish inside the box, which rocketed into the back of the net, leaving Olsen without a chance. Created City’s third showing off his outrageous footwork, which epitomised his magical ability. A stunning performance that emphasised why he is the best holding midfielder in the world.
Bernardo Silva - 7
He always did the basics right, was majestic in midfield, and never looked phased—a typical Silva performance.
Phil Foden - 10
A stunning free-kick from the Englishman put City in front just before halftime. Neat and tidy play all evening as he single-handedly controlled the game for the Citizens. Two goals in eight minutes in the second half saw Foden secure his hattrick and make certain that all three points would stay in Manchester. The pick of the bunch was a stunning strike from the edge of the box that rocketed into the top corner.
Jérémy Doku - 7
Did very well for City’s opener. He timed his run to perfection and played a fantastic cross from the right wing. Other than that, it was a relatively quiet night for Doku, with Foden and Rodri stealing the attacking headlines.
Julián Álvarez - 7
Alvarez had a fantastic chance to put City in front after just two minutes but hit the side, netting on the volley. Probably had the lightest impact of the attacking unit yet still put in a respectable performance.
Jack Grealish - 8
Played a wonderful ball to Alvarez in the second minute of the game. Pulled all the strings, a successful return to the starting eleven.
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Substitutions
Sergio Gomes (80 min) - 6
Hit the post and nearly gave City a fifth. Looked tidy in his short cameo.
Matheus Nunes (75 min) - N/A
Mateo Kovacic (75 min) - N/A
Oscar Bobb (80 min) - N/A
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Aston Villa
Robin Olsen - 7.5
After initially being named in the starting eleven, Villa’s number one, Emiliano Martínez, pulled out of the team less than an hour before kickoff. Robin Olsen took the World Cup winners place and stepped up tremendously. He made vital saves and kept his side in the game for large portions. He couldn’t have done anything about any of City’s goals with his performance worthy of a clean sheet.
Ezri Konsa - 5
He won the majority of his duels, passed the ball well, and often got his side out of trouble. There was not much he could have done about any of City’s goals.
Diego Carlos - 5
Did very well to launch the Villains counterattack, which brought them level. Surprisingly, in a defence that shipped four goals, he didn’t do much wrong.
Clément Lenglet - 5
Didn’t make many mistakes. Was very good with the ball at his feet.
Lucas Digne - 5
Weak in attack, he could not progress his side into Manchester City’s half. The lack of attacking threat from the fullbacks was often costly for Villa. Not awful defensively.
Nicolò Zaniolo - 5
Showed positive attacking signs in the first half. But he had a moment to forget as he jumped out of the wall from the free-kick that saw City take the lead for the second time.
Tim Iroegbunam - 6
Iroegbunam was handed his first Premier League start, and tasks don’t come much tougher than a trip to the treble winners, Manchester City. Overall, the midfielder handled the task pretty well.
Douglas Luiz - 4.5
Booked after 38 minutes and looked reckless. Gave the freekick away that resulted in City’s second. Failed to win many duels. He missed an enormous chance to keep his side's hopes of points alive. A weak performance, which you rarely associate with the Brazilian.
Morgan Rogers - 6
Linked up well with Duran to get Villa level. Other than that, he went unnoticed for large spells of the game, with the Villains not providing much of an attacking threat.
Moussa Diaby - 5
Unable to get into the game. Didn’t create much and struggled to have a real impact.
Jhon Durán - 6.5
A well-worked goal was rounded off with a tidy finish to get his side back into the game after 20 minutes. Proved to be a nuisance for the City centre halves in the first period. He was much quieter in the second half, with Villa not creating much.
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Substitutions
Leon Bailey (63 min) - 5
Came on at 3-1 down. Failed to have any impact. A very similar performance to Diaby who he replaced.
Callum Chambers (64 min) - 6
Didn’t do much wrong. Game was already gone by the time he’d come on.
Youri Tielemans (63 min) - 5
Totally unnoticeable. Had little to no impact.
Alex Moreno (71 min) - N/A
Omari Kellyman (77 min) - N/A
