Morgan Rogers’ goal and assist saw Aston Villa defeat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park to go fifth in the Premier League.
Jhon Duran fired Villa ahead in the 16th minute from Rogers’ selfless pass on a quick attack.
Rogers completed the win over his former team with a 65th minute effort from John McGinn’s pass.
Phil Foden netted a 93rd minute consolatory goal as Man City ultimately slumped to another loss.
Villa’s win lifted them up to fifth and one point plus position above City.
With one win in their last 11 matches across all competitions and low on confidence, City were lucky that Stefan Ortega blocked Duran’s shot just 15 seconds in, before he then blocked two corner kicks in quick succession.
City quickly settled in possession thereafter but struggled to create many chances, aside from a 11th minute shot by Mateo Kovacic.
Villa made City pay five minutes later as Youri Tielemans unleashed ex City player – Rogers forward with a pass, which the 22 year-old selflessly played across for Duran to smash in beyond Ortega to break the deadlock.
Man City struggled to muster much response aside from Foden’s 34th minute shot following one-two move into the box with Rico Lewis, but Emiliano Martinez made a crucial block.
Josko Gvardiol then nodded over from a cross by ex Villa winger, Jack Grealish in the 43rd minute, as City failed to restore parity at half-time.
City boss, Pep Guardiola opted to switch John Stones out for Kyle Walker ahead of the second half, in hope of sparking a turnaround in momentum.
Villa however continued to look the more lively as Matty Cash and Rogers put shots wide early in the second-half.
Rogers in particular proved a tricky player with his agility and attacking positioning, which was rewarded with a 65th minute strike into the bottom right corner from John McGinn’s pass to double Villa’s lead.
Rogers’ goal ultimately sucked the life out of Man City but Ortega denied substitute, Ollie Watkins with a 82nd minute save from the England international’s shot following a well-executed pass by Rogers.
Foden however denied Villa a clean sheet after he pounced upon a 93rd minute error from Lucas Digne, but Villa ultimately saw the game out to go fifth in the table, whilst City head into Christmas with one win in 12 matches as pressure grows on Guardiola.
What’s Next?
Villa head to Newcastle at 3pm GMT on Thursday 26 December in their Boxing Day fixture.
Man City kick off the Boxing Day action with a home game against Everton in a 12:30pm GMT kick-off at Etihad Stadium.
Teams
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana, John McGinn, Jhon Duran (Watkins 80′), Morgan Rogers (Buendia 91′)
Substitutes: Leon Bailey, Ross Barkley, Lamare Bogarde, Emiliano Buendia, Ian Maatsen, Tyrone Mings, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Robin Olsen, Ollie Watkins
Man City: Stefan Ortega, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, John Stones (Walker 46′), Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic (Doku 84′), Ilkay Gundogan (Savinho 73′), Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland
Substitutes: Nathan Ake, Scott Carson, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, James McAtee, Savinho, Nico O’Reilly, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Kyle Walker
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