Nunes Strikes Late as City Edge Villa in Etihad Thriller

TDT | Manama
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City leave it late

Matheus Nunes scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester City in the dying moments of injury time to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

The result lifts Pep Guardiola’s side to third in the table with 61 points, keeping their Champions League hopes alive with four games to go. Nunes latched on to a low cross from Jeremy Doku in the 94th minute, sparking wild celebrations among the home crowd.

"We are not used to scoring late winners," Guardiola admitted to Sky Sports. "So I’m really, really happy for the goal that we scored at the end. Every point is crucial now."

Silva opener cancelled out by Rashford

City had taken the lead early through Bernardo Silva in the 7th minute. Omar Marmoush made a darting run down the left and cut the ball back to Silva, whose shot trickled past Emi Martinez despite the keeper getting a touch.

Aston Villa struck back just 11 minutes later. VAR ruled that Ruben Dias had clipped Jacob Ramsey inside the box, and Marcus Rashford stepped up to send Stefan Ortega the wrong way and make it 1-1.

Rashford, lively throughout, had hit the post within the opening 20 seconds and later threatened on the break, but couldn’t find a second goal.

McAtee misses chances, Nunes makes no mistake

City dominated possession (61.6%) and created more chances, but their finishing let them down—particularly in the second half.

Kevin De Bruyne teed up James McAtee with a superb pass, but the young midfielder skewed his shot wide. Moments later, McAtee failed to connect with a pinpoint ball from Nico O'Reilly with the goal gaping.

City’s persistence, however, paid off. Doku’s low cross evaded Villa’s defence, and Nunes arrived at the far post to sweep home, sealing three crucial points.

Villa’s Etihad curse continues

Unai Emery’s side, still in the hunt for European qualification, have now lost 15 consecutive games away at Manchester City. They remain seventh in the table with 57 points.

“Over 90 minutes, they dominated more,” Emery told Sky Sports. “But we played a good competitive match. There are positives to take and we move on.”

City defender Ruben Dias summed up the mood: “This was a massive step. Four games to go. Every single one will feel like a final.”