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Former Premier League winner Micah Richards has said that he started believing Manchester City could beat Aston Villa after City scored their first goal.
The Cityzens required a victory against Steven Gerrard's men on Matchday 38 of the Premier League season on Sunday to seal the title. However, a largely tepid display at the Etihad saw them go 2-0 down by the 69th minute, following goals from Matty Cash and Philippe Coutinho.
City manager Pep Guardiola brought on Ilkay Gundogan and Oleksandr Zinchenko from the bench a minute before Coutinho's goal. The move paid rich dividends, as Gundogan scored in the 76th minute to haul the defending champions back into the game.
Richards told Sky Sports that the German's strike helped him believe City would win:
"The spirit in this stadium was down in the dumps, but when they got that first goal, it turned, and I started to believe."
The Englishman, who won the league and FA Cup with City during a ten-year association between 2005 and 2015, lauded his former team's mentality. Richards said:
"You're sitting there thinking it's going to be Liverpool's time. They're going to get the three and go and play Real Madrid (in the Champions League final) to potentially get the fourth. But this team fights to the end."
Gundogan's goal against Aston Villa was quickly followed up by an excellent finish from Rodri just two minutes later to level the scores. The former then tapped in from Kevin De Bruyne's teasing cross in the 84th minute to cap an incredible comeback victory for the Cityzens.
"The moment we found a goal, it changed everything" - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Manchester City manager Guardiola also believes Gundogan's first goal was a big moment in their game against Aston Villa. He said following his team's victory:
"The moment we found a goal, it changed everything. We are playing in not normal circumstances, but you have to handle it."
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss went on to praise Gundogan for his performance when City were staring down the barrell:
"Gundogan is the best inside runner we have. We were arriving down the sides, and we needed a player with the sense of tempo in the box, and he's the best."
Gundogan's brace marked the second occasion he scored to help Manchester City win the Premier League on the final day of the season. The German netted an amazing free-kick during the club's 4-1 comeback victory at Brighton & Hove Albion to seal the 2018-19 league title.
