With just over a minute remaining, this was shaping up to be a vital result for in-form Aston Villa. But then, Jeremy Doku, a second-half substitute, burst free down the left, leaving Axel Disasi trailing in his wake. A delightful ball with the outside of his right boot travelled across the six-yard box for Matheus Nunes to slam in from a tight angle. On the touchline, Pep Guardiola – Manchester City’s manager, who has won the Champions League thrice in all – celebration as though his team had just clinched club football’s premier trophy.
City’s 2-1 win lifted them to 61 points and third place in the table, four ahead of Villa who stay in seventh. With a fairly kind set of fixtures to come, Guardiola and his team are now unlikely to miss out on Champions League riches.
Bernardo Silva, one of the stalwarts likely to leave this summer, had given them a seventh-minute lead, with a long-range shot that Emiliano Martinez somehow palmed into the net. But though City dominated possession, Villa were level 10 minutes later, after the VAR requested Craig Pawson, the referee, to take a look at Ruben Dias’s challenge on Jacob Ramsey.
What it means to Pep [ @obviouslyruben5 ] #Pep pic.twitter.com/o2fQE09D2Y
— The Pep (@GuardiolaTweets) April 22, 2025
“I’m really pleased for the game we played.” – Pep Guardiola
Marcus Rashford, on loan at Villa but booed throughout because of his Manchester United connections, calmly slotted the penalty into the corner. After that, Villa withstood multiple attacks and sporadically looked dangerous on the break. In a bid to win the game, Unai Emery brought on Ollie Watkins and Marco Asensio, but it was another substitute, Disasi, who cost them the game after failing to stop Doku’s cross.
“We are not used to [winning late],” said a relieved Guardiola after the game. “I think winning games in the last minute belongs to Liverpool so many times for Jurgen [Klopp], Arsenal as well for Mikel [Arteta]. We are not used to it so I’m really, really happy for the goal we scored at the end.
“We are in the last four or five games, with a Champions League contender like Aston Villa. You know it’s one of the top, best teams in Europe. We played really, really good in all departments. Aggressive in our duels, the back four was unbelievable. I’m really pleased for the game we played.”
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