Whilst the Arsenal draw left many wondering about Manchester City’s title hopes, a win against Villa doesn’t only restore their hope but also included plenty of great individual performances. If there was any concerns about City having a top gear to reach then the win on Wednesday proved there is more to come in these final games.

Follow us on X | Subscribe to our Newsletter

Manchester City 4-1 Aston Villa Match Review

Premier League

MOTM: Phil Foden

Other standout performances include: Rodri

Notable Stats:

• The first goal scored by Phil Foden against Aston Villa was his first to come from a direct free kick. He’s now scored more Premier League goals this season than he has in any other single campaign.

• Phil Foden is the fifth player to reach 20+ goals and 10+ assists while playing for a side in Europe’s big five leagues this season.

• At 23, Phil Foden has scored his third Premier League hat-trick and the only players to score more in this competition before turning 24 are Robbie Fowler (7), Michael Owen (7), Harry Kane (6) and Erling Haaland (5).

Main Takeaways:

• Here is how Manchester City lined up for the game, took me by surprise that Guardiola went for the rotation in Haaland and De Bruyne as I was expecting that to come at the weekend. Still it made sense with how Villa pressed and meant there was a lot of players to take touches, stop Villa from running at City. Wide players to stretch the Villa block.

• Phil Foden had another performance playing as a ten, drifting across the final third and thrived. Retains the ball (93% passes), picks his moments and also does his shift defensively. 3 defensive actions, 2 tackles and 1 clearance. Just in 2024 Foden has had incredible performances against Brentford (A), Copenhagen (A), Bournemouth (A), Man United (H) and Aston Villa (H). Question becomes how Pep will fit everyone in around Foden, playing his best position.

• Rodri is not in the conversation for best DM or midfielder in the world, he’s the best player full stop. The hub for everything great Manchester City do and putting up creative numbers most attacking midfielders would struggle to maintain. Get him his partner in the summer to let him flourish even more.

• Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku both provided threat down their own sides, making smart decisions on the ball and getting back to support out of possession. An option that I think we will see much more of in the coming Premier League games. We have missed Grealish this season and Doku looks to be settling in to the side looking much more comfortable with his role.

• Josko Gvardiol has locked down the LB spot for the remainder of the season IMO, looking much more assured dealing with any tricky wingers than earlier in the season. Great partnership with Grealish down the left side defensively.

• Rico Lewis stepping up again after the Arsenal performance, pushing up high and linking up with Foden. Leading the counter press, being aggressive in winning back the ball. The goal conceded was in my opinion due to the distance he has to cover getting back, always going to leave the defenders in a tough position.

• Stefan Ortega deserves a mention for more than just holding it down whilst Ederson is injured, with other back up keepers in the past we wouldn’t have been nearly as confident in.

• An example from within the first 15 minutes of the game how having wingers on the pitch opens up the space, pulling a compact team outward and gives the central player a run to pick out.

  

• Having the wingers provide the width and then Rodri/Rico sat in front of the Villa midfielders, you can see the space begin to open up centrally for Phil Foden as the game went on.

• Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic both came on for Rodri/Bernardo in the 75th minute. Game over by then so very hard to read much into their performances beyond them being a safe pair of hands to see out the game. Bobb and Gomez came on not longer after and had a few flashes. It’ll be interesting to see if any of these players get given a start against Crystal Palace since rotation will be important before Madrid. Bobb would be my pick for that.

Moving Forward:

• Liverpool take on Sheffield United this evening which is likely to be a routine win, then City face Crystal Palace 12:30 Saturday lunch time. A win for City there will put pressure on the two title rivals who play away from home. Liverpool away to Man United and Arsenal away to Brighton.

• Manchester City are no doubt still in this title race, it’s very tight and has plenty of football left to be played. It won’t take much to shift perspectives but Liverpool for now remain in the driving seat.

• Performance against Villa was encouraging as much as it opens up questions around how to get the best out of Phil Foden in the middle and who should miss out. The best eleven is far from being locked in but City do have tools to put it all together.

Interesting Moments and Links

• Foden thoughts post game.

• Rodri post game thoughts.

• Markstatsbot data from the game.

That’s all for this newsletter. If you haven’t already, subscribe to get all this Manchester City content right to your inbox.

Subscribe to Sky Blue Times

Up the Treble Winning Blues.