Manchester City left it late to secure a 2-0 victory over a
stubborn Aston Villa side and move up to second in the Premier League table.
Goals from Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero in the last ten minutes were enough to see
off an Aston Villa side which saw the return of their star striker Christian
Benteke.
The Champions’ looked like they were going to drop another
two points after their uncertain start of the season saw them pick up just five
point from a possible nine in the month of September. On a ground where they
famously lost last season, it looked like it was to be another unhappy return
to Villa Park for City but two late goals means they go into the international
break two points behind Chelsea with Jose Mourinho’s men playing tomorrow.
Villa defended defiantly in the first 45 minutes restricting
the away side to just shots from range. However with 10 minutes on the clock that
tactic nearly backfired with defender Alexander Kolarov striking the post from
range. The first half presented a good battle for possession which city
indefinitely won but couldn’t convert the possession into goals and as a result
there were no shots on target between both sides in the first half. Villa’s
centre back partnership of Nathan Baker and Phillip Senderos created a claret
and blue wall which blocked every shot Eden Dzeko and Aguero could throw at
them and as a result the score was all square at half time.
The second half saw the game open up. Five minutes into the
half and Aguero latched onto a through ball from former Villa player James
Milner but his effort from the right hand side of the penalty area hit the post
past a despairing Brad Guzan but Villa broke down the other side and Charles N’Zogbia
found Keiran Richardson but his shot from the left hand side of the penalty was
blocked by a recovering Pablo Zabaleta.
With 60 minutes gone Villa introduced their talismanic
striker Benteke who has been out for six months with injury. He received a
rapturous applause from the home fans and the Belgian looked sharp from the
offset. However city also introduced midfielder Fernando and a combination of
the Brazilian and defender Vincent Kompany marked him out of the game removing
Villa’s attacking threat.
With 82 minutes gone the home side’s resistance was broken.
Toure, who has had a sluggish start to the season, picked the ball up unmarked on
the edge of the area and with the Villa defence standing off him, he curled a
sumptuous effort into the near post with his left foot to net his first goal of
the season. Aguero doubled the lead with two minutes to go after creating space
on the edge of the area; he skipped past three defenders to fire home from 20
yards. This gave city a score line which was unfair on the hosts’.
The result now leaves Villa without a win in three games but
it seems City have finally clicked into gear with a solid overall performance. Despite
being rarely threatened, the City defence was strong and the attack force was
enough to overcome even the most determined of Villa defence’s.
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