What happen to Manchester City, Aston Villa successfully pressuring Manchester City and that make Manchester City can only give 3 shots. The absence of Rodri really make Manchester City looks like a mediocre club. Alvarez can still able to replace De Bruyne, but there's no one can replace Rodri even they have 3-4 defensive midfielders.
Aston Villa outperformed Man City in every aspect in this match. I believe it's due to Man City's strong determination, but Aston Villa's aggressive play seemed to disrupt Pep Guardiola's plans. Aston Villa executed an excellent defensive blockade.
In the final statistics of the game, Man City only managed 2 shots on target. Despite having a 54% ball possession advantage, I observed a significant decline in Man City's gameplay.
This could be a sign that English Premier League clubs have more evenly distributed strength, not solely concentrated within the top 6 clubs. The match showcased that any team, regardless of their standing, can present a formidable challenge to even the traditionally stronger sides.
You are right, I watched the game yesterday and what I saw totally shocked me. The Way Aston Villa played the game really impressed me. They are inform and in the top 4. City were really not at their best. Pep has to find a way to navigate through this tough period for City. But am happy about the performance of Aston Villa.