Rashford couldn't save Aston Villa

Rashford played well in Aston Villa's defeat.

In the 90+4 minute, when the score was 2-1, Jeremy Doku broke through strongly on the left wing, before crossing for Matheus Nunes to run up to the far post. Despite receiving the ball at a rather narrow angle, the former Wolves player was still able to score, sealing a thrilling victory for the Etihad team.

Man City beat their direct rivals in the race for a Champions League ticket, thereby temporarily rising to 3rd place in the rankings with 61 points, 4 points ahead of 6th-placed Chelsea and having played one more game. Meanwhile, Aston Villa is stuck in 7th place with 57 points.

Aston Villa, on a run of five straight wins, almost had a dream start when Marcus Rashford hit the post after just 18 seconds. However, the home team quickly regained control of the game. In the 7th minute, from a combination between Omar Marmoush and his teammates, Bernardo Silva fired a tricky shot past Emiliano Martinez, opening the scoring for Man City.

Despite being behind, Villa still played with determination and were given a chance to equalize by VAR after Rúben Dias fouled Jacob Ramsey in the penalty area. In the 18th minute, Rashford made no mistake, fooling goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, bringing the match back to the starting line. In the following minutes, both teams continuously created dangerous opportunities, but both lacked the accuracy to convert them into goals.

The second half saw Man City dominate possession but lack the finishing touch. Villa almost took the lead when Rashford beat Ortega but couldn't finish from a tight angle.

When the match seemed to end in a draw, Doku's moment of personal significance helped the Etihad team retain 3 points, thereby lighting up the hope of keeping a position in the top 5 of the Premier League.