Champions fall again as Villa outperforms Man City.

At Villa Park, Aston Villa defeated the defending champions 2-1, condemning Manchester City to their sixth loss in eight Premier League games.

Jhon Duran gave Villa the lead early in the match, taking advantage of Pep Guardiola's team's sluggish start. Morgan Rogers then duly increased the lead halfway through the second half. The scorers appeared to represent City's lack of strength and pace.

Despite Phil Foden's goal in stoppage time, City's lacklustre performance was still evident. With the win, Unai Emery's team moves up to fifth place in the Premier League standings, leaving Guardiola's team in sixth place and raising questions about whether or not this run of poor play will end.

How Villa came out on top
John McGinn stole the ball from Josko Gvardiol, allowing Duran to put Stefan Ortega to the test inside the first minute as Villa raced into City. Villa established the tone, and the City goalie had to make two more saves in the first hundred seconds.

After Youri Tielemans had identified Morgan Rogers' run, the roving midfielder selflessly squared the ball for the Colombian striker to score his eighth Premier League goal of the year, setting up Duran's brilliantly executed opening move.

After that, it was common for City to dominate possession without producing anything noteworthy because their passing was too monotonous and predictable. It seemed like this was only a stopgap before Villa came charging at them again each time they had the ball.

In a more forward role, Duran and Tielemans were both outstanding, but Rogers' bullying of City—at one point, Foden nearly bouncing off him as he frantically attempted to keep up with the Villa player—made him the standout performer.

On the half turn, Rogers repeatedly picked up the ball, held off his marker, and skipped away from them. When facing him, Kyle Walker, who in as a halftime substitute while Guardiola made futile attempts to alter anything, appeared to age in real time.

'Exceptional' makes Guardiola delighted. Rogers
Pep Guardiola, the head coach of Man City, addressing during the news conference

Naturally, Rogers, a former City player, was permitted to join Middlesbrough during the summer of the previous year. Although he was full of admiration for him, Guardiola did explain why he was unable to make the breakthrough.

"It can be challenging at times when you have Kevin De Bruyne at the height of his abilities, David Silva, Bernardo [Silva], Riyad [Mahrez], Leroy [Sane], and Raheem [Sterling]." That's the only explanation for [his lack of opportunity].

It goes without saying that these players would be with us in this circumstance right now, but it wasn't the appropriate time.

"He's a nice guy, so I'm glad for him. Both this season and previous, he was a huge hit. He is, in my opinion, a very exceptional player. Another outstanding player from England.

Emery on Villa's method
Unai Emery, the head coach of Aston Villa, talks during the press conference

"Our starting performance today—scoring a goal, applying good pressure, and grabbing corners in the first five to ten minutes—was crucial for the confidence it gave us.

"We were playing such poor defence that they had two chances to score after that. The strategy we discussed in the dressing room at halftime was to push them to prevent them from controlling the ball and, second, to prevent them from pressing us while we were building up to get possession.

"We stopped them by doing that better. That, I believe, was crucial. We scored the [second] goal after we began to create opportunities. Their confidence was declining while ours was rising. It was amazing, in my opinion.

asked whether Villa exploited Man City's weakness.

"Manchester City's confidence is a little lower than it usually is. For thirty minutes of the first half, they were excellent. Perhaps they will regain their confidence if they score at that precise moment. It was very different in the second half.

questioned whether Villa could surpass Man City this season.

"We have 28 points after 17 games. Although City is behind us, they will often improve in the upcoming games over the course of the following month. We must maintain our mindset and focus solely on the upcoming game. Newcastle away is the following game.