Clinical Man City edge stubborn Aston Villa at Etihad to go top
- Man City vs Aston Villa saw the home side leave it late with two crucial goals in the dying minutes of the second half
- Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan both found the back of the net to guide City to a comfortable win
- The victory momentarily sent the Etihad outfit top on the standings pending the outcome of Man United's game against Fulham
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Man City have climbed to the summit of the Premier League table thanks to their slim 2-0 win over a stubborn Aston Villa on Wednesday night, January 20, at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola rung a couple of changes from the team that hammered Crystal Palace 4-0 in their last fixture, with Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko dropping to the bench.
However, the tactical tweak did not pay off immediately as City laboured through the match in search of a winner.
Source: UGC
Despite their dominance, the home side did not have anything to show for into the break as Villa staged a brave performance to frustrate City's attack.
The second half of the match saw Guardiola roll the dice, swapping Raheem Sterling for Riyad Mahrez.
But he still had to wait until the 80th minute for his side to find the evasive winner, with Bernardo Silva finding the back of the net as he curled home an unstoppable shot into the top left.
The goal was met with protestation from Villa boss Dean Smith who confronted the referee claiming Rodri was offside in the build up to the opener.
His move saw him handed marching orders as things went from bad to worse for the visitors who eventually conceded a penalty at the death.
Ilkay Gundogan, who was wasteful in front of goal stepped up to take the effort, doubling his side's advantage from 12 yards to inspire City to a comfortable win.
The result was enough to send the Citizens top on the charts - albeit momentarily pending the result between Man United and Fulham.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Man United fans have been sent into a meltdown after Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to drop have a huge transfer hint on Instagram.
Ronaldo, who is facing an uncertain future at Juventus, has been widely linked with a transfer move away from the Serie A giants.
Even at 35 years of age, the Portuguese talisman is still going strong, shining for Juve amid a difficult season under Andrea Pirlo.
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Babajide Orevba (Sports Editor) Babajide Orevba is a CAF-accredited Nigerian journalist, digital publishing expert, researcher, writer and TV analyst. He has covered several major football tournaments including FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, AFCON, CAF Competitions as well as grassroots competitions within Nigeria. Email: babajide.orevba@corp.legit.ng
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