Erling Haaland scored his tenth goal in six games, but Aston Villa prevented Manchester City from taking the lead in the Premier League as they fought for a 1-1 draw.
It took about a minute to reach a hard-earned point, which eased the pressure on Villa boss Steven Gerrard.
Haaland traveled to Villa Park, supported by consecutive tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, but he and his teammates from the city could not give a shot in the first half
The breakthrough came five minutes after half-time, when Haaland scored an easy goal at the second post, after Kevin De Bruyne delivered an excellent cross from the right flank, although Bailey had the last word when Jacob Ramsey scored after a corner.
Kyle Walker came into Manor’s box in the fourth minute, but unnecessarily increased the gap. Surprisingly, the performance of the city right-back was the best opening moment of the arrow at half-time.
Guardiola’s men played their best football after half-time, De Bruyne’s magical moment let Haaland do the rest and he recorded an already all too familiar celebration in front of the fans.
De Bruyne was the city’s top scorer and threw a free throw against the crossbar before being sent off in the 71st minute.
Haaland turned to abruptly stop the goalkeeper of the manor, Emiliano Martinez, which meant that the equalizer broke the course of the match when Jacob Ramsey fell in the left corridor and Bailey decided to go crazy for the first time.
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Coutinho’s action denied Villa Triggers lucky officers
After the game, Gerrard admitted that he chose pragmatism out of necessity. But he sent his main player away and maybe he should have been the match winner.
Coutinho made history in goal against City and sent home a 25-yard shot as it flew over the underside of the crossbar. Referee Simon Hooper had already whistled because an offside flag had been hoisted so that the goal could not stand. Replays showed that there was no away match.
In fact, even without whistling, it was hard to imagine a City player effectively challenging Coutinho or Ederson as the shot approached. Because the pipe had disappeared, Var’s hands were tied.
After offside flags have become a real nuisance for fans in recent years, but this incident has shown why they happen. Gerrard has the right to feel disadvantaged.
