Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester City: Pep Guardiola says City up for title challenge

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are up for the title challenge after Bernardo Silva's stunning goal helped them beat Aston Villa and inflict Steven Gerrard's first Premier League defeat as a manager.

Silva showed world-class technique to side-foot volley Gabriel Jesus' dropping cross into the roof of the net from just inside the area, after City ripped their hosts open with a rapid break.

That sublime strike doubled the visitors' advantage before half-time, with Ruben Dias the unlikely source of their opener when he curled into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Villa have renewed resolve since Gerrard's arrival though, and Ollie Watkins replied immediately after the interval with a neat strike from a well-worked corner routine.

But the hosts were unable to find a leveller and Gerrard, having won his opening two games in charge, dropped points for the first time in the Villa dugout.

Jack Grealish was brought on as a late substitute to make his first return to Villa Park since a £100m summer move, greeted by a mixture of boos and applause from the home crowd that once adored him.

"Do we have another alternative?" said Guardiola when asked whether City were ready to battle for the title. "So we are going to face the challenge."

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Depleted City show their quality

City boss Guardiola said before his side's trip to Villa Park they were facing a player "emergency", but there was still an abundance of talent available to the Spaniard.

Top of the pile right now is Silva, the mesmerising Portuguese playmaker who made an astonishing piece of technique look outrageously simple.

Dias' opener was reward for City's early dominance and Guardiola could not help but smile when Silva nonchalantly volleyed in a second before the break.

The diminutive midfielder had time to bring Jesus' delivery down, but instead caressed it first time beyond Emiliano Martinez to finish off a lightning counter-attack that started in City's own box seconds earlier.

The hosts' early approach was to soak up City pressure and hit them on the break, but the loss of Leon Bailey to a muscle injury after half an hour impacted that plan.

Villa have lost all six of the previous games in which they trailed at half-time in the Premier League this season, but whatever Gerrard's interval message was worked almost immediately.

They took the game to the champions, with Watkins steering in Douglas Luiz's corner within two minutes of the restart, much to the watching Prince William's delight.

That roused the Villa Park faithful and 18-year-old Carney Chukwuemeka went close to levelling, only to be denied by City goalkeeper Ederson.

Villa had rolled out the claret and blue carpet for returning hero Grealish beforehand, with Gerrard saying he would be welcomed back and the club tweeting "thank you for the memories".

He had to settle for a short cameo, having not played since 3 November for City, but the England international's return will help to ease Guardiola's injury concerns.

"People can express what they want," said Guardiola about the reception awarded to Grealish. "If they boo it is because they love him so much. I thought a lot of people were clapping.

"A warm welcome back to this club. He loves this club more than any other. He decided to take the next step to play in Europe."

The victory also brought up Guardiola's 150th win in the Premier League with Manchester City, and he has reached that landmark in 204 games - faster than any other manager in the competition.

Player of the match

Bernardo SilvaBernardo Silva

with an average of 7.64

• Aston VillaAston VillaAston Villa
• Man CityManchester CityManchester City

Aston Villa

Avg

1. Squad number11Player nameWatkins

   Average rating

   6.61
2. Squad number7Player nameMcGinn

   Average rating

   6.51
3. Squad number33Player nameChukwuemeka

   Average rating

   6.04
4. Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz

   Average rating

   5.94
5. Squad number1Player nameE Martínez

   Average rating

   5.92
6. Squad number2Player nameCash

   Average rating

   5.89
7. Squad number19Player nameNakamba

   Average rating

   5.86
8. Squad number5Player nameMings

   Average rating

   5.78
9. Squad number4Player nameKonsa

   Average rating

   5.76
10. Squad number8Player nameSanson

    Average rating

    5.65
11. Squad number18Player nameYoung

    Average rating

    5.62
12. Squad number3Player nameTargett

    Average rating

    5.53
13. Squad number10Player nameBuendía

    Average rating

    5.48
14. Squad number31Player nameBailey

    Average rating

    5.19

Manchester City

Avg

1. Squad number20Player nameBernardo Silva

   Average rating

   7.64
2. Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias

   Average rating

   6.99
3. Squad number26Player nameMahrez

   Average rating

   6.73
4. Squad number27Player nameJoão Cancelo

   Average rating

   6.71
5. Squad number9Player nameGabriel Jesus

   Average rating

   6.60
6. Squad number31Player nameEderson

   Average rating

   6.56
7. Squad number16Player nameRodri

   Average rating

   6.49
8. Squad number11Player nameZinchenko

   Average rating

   6.47
9. Squad number6Player nameAké

   Average rating

   6.42
10. Squad number25Player nameFernandinho

    Average rating

    6.40
11. Squad number7Player nameSterling

    Average rating

    6.15
12. Squad number10Player nameGrealish

    Average rating

    5.81

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