The Villains slayed the real ‘villains’ on Saturday afternoon, as Unai Emery’s Aston Villa ended Man City’s seven-match winning streak with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Villa Park.
From City’s perspective, this could be little more than academic in the end. Sure, Maresca would have liked the win to ensure he became the first manager to win his first eight games in charge (a nice little individual honour). However, the lingering spectre of a mammoth points deduction and almost certain relegation render these results somewhat meaningless (who knows). Here are my Man City player ratings.
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma- 4/10
We all know that Donnarumma has been a liability with the ball at his feet. But his famed shot-stopping abilities seemed immune to the calamitous gene. Think again. I got a bit frustrated when the commentators suggested that he should have done better with Jackson’s opener at the near post: that thing was hit like a rocket. But there’s no defending his inability to keep out Jackson’s 2nd. This is becoming a major headache for Maresca (as if he didn’t have enough on his plate already).
RB: Abdukodir Khusanov- 7/10
A very professional outing by the Uzbekistani. His electrifying pace gave him a huge advantage when dealing with Villa’s awesome counterattacking threat. He started at right-back before partnering Dias in the 2nd stanza.
CB: Marc Guehi- 3/10
Like Donnarumma, Guehi is becoming a major repeat offender. The powerhouse centre-half fell prey to another howler on Saturday afternoon, failing to control a basic cross-field ball from Dias that then led to Villa’s opener. He also gave away a cheap foul right on the edge of City’s box. Guehi looks like every Man City YouTube commentator right after the recent guilty verdict was announced: a bag of nerves.
CB: Ruben Dias- 6/10
Dias should charge City a consultation fee for every time he has to hype Guehi up after an inexplicable error. Jokes aside, Dias had been carrying the Englishman for a few weeks now. He was solid on Saturday, producing one sensational recovery tackle when Alysson appeared to have wrestled free from him. McGinn used his high footballing IQ to drag Dias out of position on more than one occasion.
LB: Josko Gvardiol- 5/10
It was the same old story for Gvardiol: looked great going forward but left too much space in behind (there’s a strong hint of Calafiori about him). Gvardiol got himself into some exciting positions, forcing Suzuki into one terrific save that saw the ball clatter against the crossbar. But Villa found plenty of joy down his vacated flank.
CM: Elliot Anderson- 7/10
Anderson was once again a pillar of consistency in the City midfield. While not quite as impactful as he has been in some of his more influential games, Anderson was still the guy picking up all the flak and driving City forward, showing off that Gerrard-esque ability to ping cross-field balls in a heartbeat. I still think he could be a tad braver when it comes to the final ball.
CM: Enzo Fernandez- 5/10
Enzo has been coasting these past few weeks. The Argentine pitbull enjoyed an eye-catching start to life at City, forming an encouraging midfield partnership with Elliot Anderson. But Fernandez has been outshone by Anderson in recent weeks and Saturday was no different. Fernandez continually overhit crosses and simply did nothing of any significance.
AM: Ryan Cherki- 4/10
That was one of the few times that Ryan Cherki hasn’t looked up to the physicality of the Premier League. The Frenchman struggled in the helter-skelter pace of the game, giving away cheap possession before ultimately picking up a deserved yellow. Cherki also snatched at one attempt after some brilliant work by Doku. Maresca had no choice but to sub him at the break.
RW: Illman Ndiaye- 8/10
Did everything he could to break his City scoring duck, forcing Suzuki into a top save before clattering another left-footed curler into the upright. Ndiaye dazzled with his silky footwork and got his reward when his expertly weighted cross was powered home by Haaland to make it 1-1.
LW: Jeremy Doku- 7/10
Hardcore City fans will probably feel frustrated with Doku’s showing. The Belgian speedster was City’s go-to attacking option, eviscerating Matty Cash virtually every time he had him 1-on-1. But Doku lacked his usual cutting edge in the final 3rd, failing to seriously work Suzuki while battling to connect with Haaland. Having said that, Cherki should have probably done better with Doku’s one cutback.
STR: Erling Haaland- 6/10
The Norwegian phenom is one of those rare players who can be completely anonymous yet still pop up with the most decisive moments of the match. In the first half, Haaland was as isolated as Tom Hanks in Castaway (at least Hanks had a ball in that movie). But the Norwegian did what he does best just after the break, nodding home his 9th Premier League goal of the season to give City hope.
Subs
Phil Foden (on for Cherki in 45’)- 6/10
Foden probably expected a start after netting a midweek hat-trick against AEK Athens. He came on for the underwhelming Cherki and provided a bit more energy and dynamism. Carved open a few opportunities with his clever passing and incessant movement.
Rico Lewis (on for Marc Guehi in 45’)- 5/10
He showed decent enterprise when brought on at right-back (though his introduction was less about getting him into the game and more about getting Guehi out of it). Linked up nicely Foden but his impact on the game diminished as the half progressed.
Ryan McAidoo (on for Ndiaye in 68’)- /10
The English teenager showed a fresh pair of heels when he came on, skinning some Villa defenders with his explosive pace. But he showed his inexperience with his decision-making, holding onto the ball for that split-second too long when his side were searching for the equalizer.
