Matheus Nunes’ 94th-minute winner saw Manchester City boost their hopes of a top-five Premier League finish with a 2-1 home victory over Aston Villa.
Nunes netted a 94th-minute winner from Jeremy Doku’s low cross to boost City’s hopes of a top-five finish in a dominant second-half display.
Bernardo Silva initially fired Man City into a seventh-minute lead from Omar Marmoush’s cutback pass before Marcus Rashford equalised from the penalty spot in the 18th minute, following Ruben Dias’ foul on Jacob Ramsey.
City now sit third but have played one game more than Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, whilst Villa remain seventh.
With just one point separating both City and Villa at kick-off, it was the visitors who nearly netted after just 18 seconds as Youri Tielemans played Rashford forward, but the England forward could only put his shot onto the right post to City’s relief.
Villa though were soon punished for Rashford’s wasteful final touch in the seventh minute with Marmoush poorly marked on the left flank, which left the Egyptian free to cut back via a deflection for Silva to thump in past Emiliano Martinez’s reach to put City ahead.
Unai Emery’s Villains however weren’t behind for long as Ramsey found himself sent tumbling upon impact by a fast-incoming Ruben Dias during a 15th-minute battle with Josko Gvardiol.
Referee, Craig Pawson initially dismissed Ramsey’s penalty appeal until VAR intervened and persuaded Pawson to reverse his initial decision.
Rashford stepped up three minutes later and calmly rolled the penalty into the bottom-right corner to restore parity.
City though quickly got on top of Villa but Marmoush saw a shot denied barely a minute after Rashford’s equaliser, before Kevin De Bruyne headed into Emiliano Martinez’s arms whilst Josko Gvardiol headed over the bar from a corner delivery.
Villa though stuck in defensively until half-time and continued to prove difficult to break down against a dominant City attack in the second half, as the Cityzens wasted several corner-kicks amidst wasted shots from Nico O’Reilly, Dias and Marmoush.
James McAtee meanwhile curled wide of the top-right corner on a 60th-minute counter-attack, before he then saw a tame shot saved six minutes later from O’Reilly’s square-ball pass.
City eventually found the net in the 80th minute as a counter-attack ultimately fell for Marmoush who turned into the far-left corner, albeit from an offside position as he met Ilkay Gundogan’s pass into the box.
Villa looked destined for a vital point until Doku burst up his left flank in the fourth minute of injury time with a low cross, which evaded everyone in the box, except Nunes who blasted into the far-left corner to snatch a crucial victory for City.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Dias explained that the victory feels “special” but iterated that City can’t underestimate their four final league games.
“Four games to go and all of them will be massively important. Important today to get the three points.
“We know how tight it is and how tight it’s going to be till the end. It is a massive step for us.
“This means everything to us. We know exactly the circumstances we are in. Top four and top five means everything to us. This is our Premier League to us.”
What’s Next?
Man City turn their attention to the FA Cup semi-finals as they meet Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium, London, on Sunday 27 April at 4:30pm BST, before returning to league action at home to Wolves on Friday 2 May in a 8pm kick-off.
Villa too will be in FA Cup action as they face Crystal Palace in the first semi-final on Saturday 26 April at 5:15pm, before they resume their league campaign with a home game against Fulham on Saturday 3 May at 12:30pm.
Teams
Man City: Stefan Ortega, Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly, Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne (Akanji 90+6′), James McAtee (Doku 74′), Omar Marmoush
Substitutes: Manuel Akanji, Scott Carson, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Nico Gonzalez, Jack Grealish, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rico Lewis, Savinho
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash (Disasi 61′), Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana (Asensio 76′), Morgan Rogers (Malen 86′), Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey (McGinn 61′), Marcus Rashford (Watkins 76′)
Substitutes: Marco Asensio, Ross Barkley, Axel Disasi, Andres Garcia, Ian Maatsen, Donyell Malen, John McGinn, Robin Olsen, Ollie Watkins
Referee – Craig Pawson
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