Aston Villa pulled off a remarkable 1-0 victory against defending champions Manchester City in their Premier League clash at Villa Park on Wednesday, December 6, 2023.
Aston Villa secured the winning goal in the 74th minute thanks to a deflected strike by Leon Bailey.
Bailey, taking the ball just past the halfway line, charged at City’s defence, releasing a shot that deflected off Ruben Dias’ foot and surpassed goalkeeper Ederson.
In the subsequent minutes, Douglas Luiz struck the post for the hosts, indicating the potential for a more significant victory in what turned out to be a surprisingly one-sided game.
The majority of Villa Park erupted in cheers as the final whistle confirmed the well-deserved win for the home team.
Under the management of Unai Emery, Villa, currently experiencing their best season in years, displayed an abundance of confidence, dominating the entire game and surpassing City to secure the third spot in the league standings.
Aston Villa’s ascent to third place, with 32 points, places them just two points behind Liverpool and four points adrift of Arsenal.
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The result has pushed Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City down to an unusual fourth position with 30 points after 15 games, trailing six points behind the league leaders, Arsenal.
In other notably matches of the evening, Manchester United claimed a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford thanks to a Scott McTominay brace while Liverpool saw off Sheffield United 2-0.
Fulham claimed the biggest win of the evening by beating Nottingham Forest 5-0, Brighton winning 2-1 against Brentford as Bournemouth edged out hosts Crystal Palace 2-0.