Feliz Navidad, Pep. For Manchester Metropolis and Guardiola, this was one other painful destruction, an unthinkable ninth defeat in 12 matches for a staff who’ve flipped from daunting to fragile and flat. Metropolis have misplaced six of their previous eight Premier League matches, as many as they gave up en path to the title in 2020-21, the worst of their championship-winning seasons, and twice as many as final season.
On the closing whistle Guardiola, clad all in black, wandered over to the more and more perplexed away followers. What do you say at this level? Then got here a deep puff of the cheeks. These are unusual, gloomy instances. Metropolis merely haven’t carried out like this in his period of supreme domination. How Villa preyed on the guests’ bare vulnerability.
If Guardiola was feeling uneasy earlier than kick-off, his gamers provided nothing in the best way of reassurances. From the second Phil Foden received the ball rolling on midway, Villa jumped on to the entrance foot. Inside 15 seconds John McGinn hounded Josko Gvardiol and launched Jhon Durán on objective. Durán’s shot was unusually weak, permitting Stefan Ortega to parry. From the nook Pau Torres flicked a header goalwards on the entrance put up, which Ortega one way or the other stored out, a mix of his left hand and the crossbar. Then Ortega pushed over one other awkward nook.
It might not take Durán too lengthy to increase his phenomenal goalscoring run. With 16 minutes gone, he was bumping chests with Morgan Rogers after combining for Villa’s opener. It was a piercing transfer however a damning one from a defensive perspective. With three sharp passes Villa went again to entrance and ripped Metropolis open.
Emiliano Martínez fed Youri Tielemans, who, halfway contained in the Villa half, lured a urgent, wandering Stones out of place. Tielemans punched a go by way of the center of the defence for Rogers to chase and he unselfishly squared for Durán to complete. The Colombian, who has scored in all six video games he has began this season, now averages a objective each 82 minutes within the league. Amadou Onana positioned a imaginary crown on Durán’s head to cap the celebrations.
Rogers, who spent 4 years at Metropolis after transferring from West Brom as a teen, completely loved himself, driving challenges, hurdling opponents, kickstarting strikes from deep and the overall thrill of conserving the champions at arm’s size. Approaching the interval he powered ahead from left-back after stealing possession, leaving Foden in a heap after which barging Bernardo Silva out of the best way.
Rogers rattled a put up after studying Durán’s backheel and ignoring Gvardiol earlier than scoring a deserved objective. Rogers disregarded Mateo Kovacic within the buildup. He began and completed the transfer, burying the ball with a left-foot, diagonal shot after McGinn squared on the sting of the world. Guardiola stood nonetheless, seemingly shellshocked, earlier than turning away in agony.
Foden decreased the deficit in added time however this was one other whimper of a defeat for Metropolis. Guardiola crouched in his technical space, ruminating and wrestling together with his ideas, his left hand propping up his chin, as a Villa counter faltered on the final.
Jack Grealish and Foden despatched pictures broad however Metropolis have been once more in need of any chunk, Erling Haaland nameless. After a steaming run Gvardiol despatched a clunky header over from a Grealish cross. Haaland, in the meantime, had a sole contact within the Villa space, an 89th-minute header.
Guardiola’s eyes have been glued to the bottom on the interval, throughout which Grealish and Martínez exchanged phrases. Grealish was booed by the locals as a member of Metropolis’s safety employees shepherded him down the tunnel, Martínez on the windup within the rear-view mirror. Grealish and his teammates appeared mentally scarred from a bruising run. They by no means recovered from a wobbling begin.
Guardiola made six adjustments from the stoppage-time defeat to Manchester United however Stones was withdrawn at half-time after he suffered a recurrence of a earlier harm. Kyle Walker arrived in his place, presumably tasked with stifling Rogers, Gvardiol shifting to centre-back, however Metropolis ceded any phantasm of management.
Quickly after the restart Matty Money blasted a shot in opposition to the facet netting after Tielemans sidestepped Manuel Akanji on midway, overlooking the unmarked Boubacar Kamara, and Durán noticed one other objective disallowed for offside after he raced on to a different Tielemans go.
“I’m not in the best second to make inventive tactical adjustments with the place we’re at,” Guardiola stated of his half-time change. “I can’t overthink issues proper now.” Not that he’s resting straightforward earlier than Everton.
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