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Manchester City suffered a shock 1-0 defeat away at Aston Villa tonight (December 6) to further raise doubts about their title aspirations.
City boss Pep Guardiola had intriguingly predicted his side would win the Premier League title ahead of tonight's game. His side sat third, with nine wins, three draws, and three defeats in 14 games played.
A victory over Villa would have put them within three points of league leaders Arsenal. But, Unai Emery would have other plans, overseeing a magnificent performance at Villa Park to stun the reigning Premier League champions.
Leon Bailey went close in the sixth minute when he raced through on goal. The Jamaican attacker's effort was well saved by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson.
It was City's turn to attack five minutes later and Erling Haaland was denied by some brilliant goalkeeping from Villa's Emiliano Martinez. The Argentine goalkeeper got up quickly to deny the striker again who attempted to head his side in front.
The Cityzens were sloppy in possession and the Villians were causing them all sorts of problems. Guardiola wore a glum face on the touchline as he watched his side put in a performance to forget.
Villa thought they'd taken the lead in the 45th minute when Douglas Luiz's header hit the inside of the post before finding the net. The former City youngster's celebrations were in vain as the offside flag went up. Still, it was a warning sign for Guardiola's men.
Manchester City failed to heed that warning as they fell behind in the 74th minute through Bailey's deflected strike. He raced forward before cutting back onto his right foot, he unleashed a fierce effort that took a nick of Ruben Dias and past a helpless Ederson.
Luiz nearly put the game to bed in the 86th minute when he exquisitely curled the ball onto the frame of the goal. It needn't matter as Emery's Villains secured a famous win against City.
Villa leapfrogs the Cityzens up to third in the Premier League with their win. Guardiola's side sit fourth, six points behind leaders Arsenal. The reigning champions only managed two attempts to the hosts' 22 all game.
One fan was ecstatic with the result:
"This city downfall is beautiful to watch."
Another fan hailed Emery:
"Unai Emery is not even joking."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to a big blow to City's hopes of a fourth consecutive title:
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp isn't writing Manchester City off despite their loss to Aston Villa
Jurgen Klopp was a keen viewer of Manchester City's defeat to Villa. The Liverpool boss had overseen a comfortable 2-0 win over Sheffield United earlier this evening.
That win took the Reds to within two points of league-leading Gunners. It also saw them move four points head of fourth-placed Manchester City who suffered their third defeat of the season.
However, Klopp was quick to dismiss any notion that the Cityzens are out of the title race. The German said (via TNT Sports):
"If somebody writes City off, that would be the biggest joke in the history of football."
Manchester City were eight points behind Arsenal in last season's title race at the turn of the year. But, Guardiola's men came good in the latter stages, eventually pipping Mikel Arteta's men to the post by five points.
