Manchester City struck late in the second half to secure a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in Premier League action on Tuesday night.
Premier League
Result: Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa
Date: 22 April 2025
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Pep Guardiola made two changes from City's win over Everton, as Mateo Kovacic and James McAtee were recalled while Villa handed a start to Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford.
Rashford nearly silenced the Etihad on his return to the side as he twisted and turned Ruben Dias in the box before seeing his strike hit the upright inside the first 20 minutes.
City did take the lead on six minutes when Omar Marmoush raced to the byline before pulling the ball back for Bernardo Silva, who fired home despite some poor handling from goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Villa were back on level terms in the 17th minute when Ruben Dias was deemed to have fouled Jacob Ramsey in the box. Rashford stepped up and calmly slotted home from 12 yards out.
The tempo of the game died down as the first half went on, as both sides found it tough to carve out another serious opening.
City made a better start to the second half and nearly pulled ahead on the hour mark when Kevin de Bruyne delightfully played in McAtee, whose attempted lob sailed inches wide of the upright.
Both sides opted for changes after the 70-minute mark, as City threw on Jeremy Doku for McAtee while Villa introduced Ollie Watkins and Marco Asensio for Rashford and Amadou Onana.
It was City's change who made the big impact as Doku broke free down the right in second-half stoppage time and picked out Matheus Nunes, who fired into the corner to seal the win with his first league goal of the campaign.
