Player Ratings: Manchester City 3-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)

Manchester City moved within just three points of Arsenal at the top of the table courtesy of a routine victory against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

Pre-match pyrotechnics and displays had the Etihad Stadium in vibrant mood, and Manchester City’s start only further brightened the mood, as Rodri bulleted a header into the bottom corner from Riyad Mahrez’s delivery just four minutes in.

The lead was doubled before long, with Erling Haaland chasing down Kevin de Bruyne’s long pass, easily outpacing goalkeeper Emi Martínez to the loose ball and firing in a vicious low cross for Ilkay Gündogan to easily finish.

It was three for City before the break, courtesy of a cleverly-won Jack Grealish penalty which was stroked high into the net by Mahrez, after a brief debate with Haaland over who would get to take.

The second period wasn’t quite as fluid for the Blues, and Aston Villa eventually managed to get on the scoresheet, as a mix-up between Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva allowed Ollie Watkins in to roll an accurate finish past Ederson.

Despite this less impressive second half, City managed to see out the win, collecting three much-needed points in their ongoing title race, as they climbed back up to second in the table ahead of a huge match against Arsenal on Wednesday.

Here’s how we rated the Manchester City side at the Etihad Stadium this weekend!

Starting XI

Ederson – 7

A little static on the Villa goal, but was sharp for a long-range Coutinho attempt and a few crosses and sweeps.

Kyle Walker – 7

Defended comfortably in his hybrid right-sided defensive role, without threatening on the overlap that often.

Rúben Dias – 7

Some nice long passes and a key slide tackle to prevent a goal. Was booked for dissent and subsequently withdrawn.

Aymeric Laporte – 7

Broke the lines with his carrying and passing, with only a slight mark against his name for his part in Villa’s goal.

Rodri – 8 (MOTM)

Notched the opening goal and bossed the midfield. Looked much more comfortable than he did last week.

Rodri vs Aston Villa:

1 Goal
112 Touches
90 Accurate Passes
90% Pass Accuracy
5 Aerial Duels Won
4 Key Passes
4 Accurate Long Balls
2 Shots On Target
2 Ground Duels Won
1 Tackle
1 Clearance
1 Interception
1 Accurate Cross
1 Successful Dribble
1 Big Chance Created pic.twitter.com/4kTwScOsO9

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) February 12, 2023

Ilkay Gündogan – 7.5

Popped up in that old back-post zone of his to grab the second goal, and did good midfield work throughout.

Bernardo Silva – 8

Speaking of improvement from last week, Bernardo looked right at home in a multitude of roles today, including a spell as a makeshift left-back!

Kevin de Bruyne – 7

Still not quite at his best, although he was unlucky not to grab an assist or two and was involved in the second.

Riyad Mahrez – 8

A goal, an assist and another classy showing, so his howler of a late miss didn’t impact anything.

Erling Haaland – 7.5

May be disappointed not to take that penalty before his half-time substitution, but still managed to get a fine assist.

Jack Grealish – 7

Got into a lot of promising areas, although the penalty win was the only time he really made full advantage of them.

Substitutes

Manuel Akanji – 6

One or two ropey passes, but ultimately nothing costly.

Julián Álvarez – 7

Pressed with his usual verve, and was probing for a goal constantly.

Phil Foden – 6.5

An uneventful return to action, with some neat touches all to report.

Nathan Aké – No time to mark.