February 12, (THEWILL) – Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 3-1 at the Villa Park in a thrilling match that saw the Citizens close the gap at the top of the English Premier League table to just three points.
City dominated the first half at they started on a high note when Rodri rose high to head a corner kick from Riyad Mahrez into the back of the net in the opening four minutes. Ilkay Gundogan also found the back of the net in the first half after capitalizing on some confusion between Calum Chambers and Villa’s keeper Emi Martinez.
The hosts were awarded a penalty in the final minute of the first half after Jacob Ramsey brought down Jack Grealish inside the box. Mahrez stepped up and fired the resulting spot kick into the top left corner of the net to give City a comfortable 3-0 lead at half time.
In the second half, Villa tried to mount a comeback with a goal from Ollie Watkins after Douglas Luiz played him through on goal. Julian Alvarez was also denied a goal by a brilliant block from Ezri Konza. In the end, Pep Guardiola’s charges were too strong for Villa and held on for a 3-1 victory.
City will now travel to the Emirates Stadium in midweek for a crucial match in this season’s title race. Aston Villa are also set to welcome the Gunners in their next match on Saturday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
