Aston Villa vs Manchester City: Defending English Premier League champions Manchester City were held 1-1 by Astron Villa at Villa Park in an exciting match.
City made a strong start to the match. However as the first half progressed, Villa started to match them and nullified City’s attack brilliantly. The first half ended as goalless. City again came out with a very aggressive game plan in the second half and piled pressure on the Villa defense.
It soon bore fruits as City drew the first blood through an inch-perfect Kevin De Bruyne delivery which was converted by their talismanic striker Erling Haaland. However, they could not secure full points as a Leon Bailey belter brought parity in the match. The match ended 1-1 and City dropped points for the second time in the season.
On that note, here are the 3 talking points from the pulsating tie.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City: Halland, City’s new hope
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Throughout his career, Pep Guardiola has been often criticised for not utilising his traditional no.9s. However, it seems things have drastically changed this summer.
After winning the league, last season without playing a no.9, City finally signed a traditional striker. They roped in Norweigian goal machine Erling Braut Haaland from Bundesliga giants Dortmund.
With huge expectations on his shoulder, questions started to rise if he will be able to replicate his Dortmund numbers in the Premier League. Since then Haaland has stopped all his critics.
The City striker has already hit double-figure as he netted ten goals in just outings including two back-to-back hattricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forrest. The 22-year-old marksman is right now the favourite for the Premier League golden boot and City’s new hope upfront.
Villa’s injury woes continue
Villa suffered yet another injury as their Polish right back Matty Cash left the field with an injury. Earlier in the season, Gerrard lost Brazilian defender Diego Carlos. Their new signing Leandro Dendonckar is also currently unavailable.
The Polish international was one of the mainstays in Villa’s defense and has started in all 6 Premier League matches this season. He had a decent start to the game but soon had to be withdrawn after tweaking his hamstring during a challenge. This resulted yet another injury concern for an already struggling Aston Villa.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City: Gerrard gets some time
After a successful managerial stint in Scotland, Gerrard joined Aston Villa last season. He had a superb start to his managerial career at Villa. However, he soon succumbed to the pressure of the Premier League.
The former Liverpool legend currently seems out of depth and is facing a huge question over his career. Villa had an abysmal start to its campaign and is currently struggling to even register points. Coming into the match like this, they stopped an incredible City side who are also the defending champions. If Gerrard can finally build something upon this result, Villa can reach far bigger heights.