Doku the super sub as City score a major late victory in the race for Champions League football
Manchester City welcomed top 5 rivals Aston Villa to the Etihad looking to put themselves in good stead to finish the season with a secure champions league spot, coming off the back of another crucial victory away at Everton. Ortega started in goal, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, and O’Reilly were the back 4. Kovacic, Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva were in midfield with Mcatee, De Bruyne, and Marmoush attacking.
It didn’t take long for the game to get off just the way the Blues wanted. Despite a near miss after just 18 seconds when on loan united player Rashford hit the post, City quickly regained composure and were mostly dominant in possession. In the 7th minute, a deflection off a ball in from Marmoush fell to Bernardo who struck the ball and it was in after a failed attempt at a save from Martinez. After 7 minutes, City led 1-0.
City remained the team with more possession. However, it was clear that cracks still needed to be papered over when getting caught on the counter attack. After a loss of possession caused by an error from Nunes, Villa seemed almost through on goal with Ramsey but he collided with Dias and lost possession in the box. A split moment of relief for City soon turned into panic again as the game was stopped for a VAR review for a possible penalty after the collision.
Referee Craig Pawson was sent to the screen and after reviewing the footage adjudged that an offence had been committed in the penalty area by Dias and awarded the spot kick. Despite pressure from the crowd, Rashford cooly sent Ortega the other way to level the scores.
City almost went straight back in the lead with Marmoush through again but he missed yet again after his attempt was smothered by Martinez. By half time, the scores remained level and neither side had threatened that much since the equaliser.
In the second half Unai Emery appeared to divert his tactics and went defensive and Aston Villa didn’t seem to provide much threat at all except for a chance for Rashford but he dribbled too far and his shot hit the side netting. City had multiple chances. Mcatee seemed through on goal and attempted an extraordinary chip from outside the area, but it was inches wide. Marmoush also had the ball in the net around the 75th minute however was offside. After a shot was comfortably saved by Martinez in the 92nd minute it seemed the result was all but confirmed. However in the dying moments, Doku who was subbed on for Mcatee earlier, charged down the wing past Disasi and put a magnificent cross into Nunes who shot from a tight angle to win the game for City with almost the very last kick in the game. Jubilant scenes erupted among the fans and Pep who celebrated more than he likely has done all season.
The win puts the Blues in a very strong position going into the final games of the season, with just 4 games left to play and in third albeit other teams around them have a game in hand. For Villa, the defeat is a blow to their hopes but are still well and truly in the race. Both teams will now shift their focus to their upcoming FA cup semi finals this weekend. The two could yet still meet in the final.