Aston Villa earned a well-deserved 1-0 victory as Leon Bailey’s goal in the second half significantly hurt Manchester City’s chances of winning the championship.
For the most part of the match, Unai Emery’s team—who have now won 14 straight Premier League home games—were in control, and the Spaniard secured his first managerial victory over fellow countryman Pep Guardiola.
Pau Torres had the opportunity to put the hosts ahead early on, but Ederson’s diving stop saved him, and Emiliano Martinez made two saves to keep Erling Haaland at bay.
Despite spending most of the night on the defensive, the visitors saw Bailey, Lucas Digne, and Ezri Konsa all come dangerously close to breaking through their defense, these were their only shots on goal of the evening.
A closer match characterized the second half, but just after the hour, John McGinn had a chance to put Villa ahead when he dipped into the penalty area and missed.
The miss didn’t matter, though, as Bailey’s effort from the edge of the box took a significant deflection and looped in to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Late in the game, Luiz went close to scoring a second with a curling effort that struck the post, as City struggled to find a way past a resolute and strong defense that stood in their way.
Man City has only managed three points out of a potential twelve in their past four Premier League games, failing to win any of them.