6 days ago
9
Manchester City player ratings as Aston Villa picked up a 1-0 win in the Premier League that ended a promising run for Pep Guardiola's side
Simon is the MEN's Chief Manchester City Writer. He joined the MEN sport desk in 2013 and has covered City home and away since 2016, reporting on Pep Guardiola's time at the club.
Manchester City tasted defeat for the first time since August as they were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa. Matty Cash's first-half strike was enough to condemn them to victory at Villa Park.
With Nico Gonzalez only deemed fit enough for the bench after the knock he picked up in Villarreal, Tijjani Reijnders started in holding midfield for the first time this season. A bright start from the visitors soon gave way to pressure for the home team as they scored through Cash and looked to add another.
City were better in the second half but were unable to find an equaliser with Erling Haaland's late effort being ruled out for an offside against Omar Marmoush. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.
Donnarumma: Could do nothing about the goal and made a decent save when Sancho went through. Little to do otherwise. 6
Nunes: Some decent defending but also far too many misplaced balls that put the pressure straight back on City. 5
Stones: Could not replicate his level from midweek and was caught out a few times having pushed up only for City to lose the ball. 5
Dias: Did reasonably well to say Watkins had him beaten for pace and recovered from a nasty fall in the second half. 6
Gvardiol: Looks well short of his best form, struggling on the ball and in physical battles. 4
Reijnders: He never looked comfortable in a role that isn't natural to him and couldn't contribute at either end of the pitch. 5
Silva: Too many errant passes and his shuffling between positions looked more a consequence of City not knowing what to do. 5
Foden: Improved in the second half as City pushed and was unlucky to see a shot blocked, but still needs to create more. 6
Bobb: Never looked up for it and when he did see the ball he didn't use it well enough. An easy pick to be subbed early. 4
Savinho: Unfortunate to see not one but two good efforts blocked in the same attack, but once again he was largely poor when tasked with picking a man out. 5
Haaland: Good in his own box as City defended Villa set-pieces, just couldn't take the one chance he got to equalise. 6
Substitutes
Gonzalez (for Stones, 61) Gave City more control. 7
O'Reilly (for Silva, 61) Pushed up well on the left and worried Cash. 7
Doku (for Bobb, 61) Some clever play on the left. 7
Cherki (for Reijnders, 76) Bright again. 6
Marmoush (for Savinho, 84) Offside at a crucial moment. 6
Not used: Trafford, Ake, Lewis, Kovacic
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