EPL

Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester City: Haaland strike not enough as Bailey denies Guardiola's men top spot

By Sports Desk September 03, 2022

Manchester City dropped points for the second time this season in the Premier League as Leon Bailey cancelled out Erling Haaland's opener to earn a 1-1 draw for Aston Villa.

Pep Guardiola's side failed to have a shot on target in the first half, yet they went ahead five minutes after the interval when Haaland prodded home from close range for his 10th goal of the season.

City were made to pay for a host of missed chances after that as Bailey rifled in with 16 minutes remaining to send Villa Park wild, delighting under-pressure home boss Steven Gerrard.

The second-placed champions moved to a point adrift of leaders Arsenal, who face a test against improving Manchester United on Sunday, while Villa climbed to 17th spot.

City started in typically dominant mood, with Kyle Walker blazing over and Kevin De Bruyne lashing wide inside the opening 10 minutes.

Villa withstood that early pressure, though, and almost took the lead in the 38th minute when Ollie Watkins' effort was deflected narrowly wide by John Stones.

City went ahead in the 50th minute with their first shot on target, Haaland stealing in at the back post to convert De Bruyne's looping cross.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker almost had a second shortly after the hour mark, yet his instinctive effort was kept out by the legs of Emiliano Martinez.

De Bruyne then clipped the top of the crossbar with a free-kick from 20 yards, before Martinez again denied Haaland.

Villa snatched a point on a rare foray forward as Bailey whipped home from 15 yards after being picked out by Jacob Ramsey.

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    The 35-year-old made his first start for the club since 2015 and, as well as helping secure a much-needed clean sheet, set up Bruno Fernandes for the only goal after having an earlier header ruled out.

    Evans re-signed for the club earlier this month following his release by Leicester, and boss Ten Hag said: “We have problems and in this moment a lot is against us: injuries, decisions and we have all seen the examples.

    “We are very happy to have a player like Jonny Evans in the squad. He comes in and he is calm, composed, he has character and a good skill-set. Even when you have things against you, you can bounce back and then you have the character in the team to do that.

    “In the summer, I heard he was in to train with the under-23s, I said ‘Fletch (technical director Darren Fletcher), come bring him in with the first team. Maybe he can help us’.

    “I already saw in pre-season with the schedule, the problems with the numbers in the squad. We decided to sign him because I think he can really contribute to the squad and today you have seen how massively important he can be.”

    Fernandes’ first-time volley from Evans’ ball over the top was a moment of real quality in a game where Ten Hag knew United could not afford another slip-up after three losses in a row.

    “This was a must-win and we knew that,” said the Dutchman, who had no complaints about the disallowed goal with Rasmus Hojland deemed to be offside and interfering in front of goalkeeper James Trafford.

    “The team responded on the pitch. You could see the togetherness in the dressing room. It was a squad performance.”

    Burnley are still looking for their first win following promotion back to the Premier League and have picked up only one point from their first five games.

    But manager Vincent Kompany was pleased with the performance of his side, who hit the post in the first half through Zeki Amdouni and had several other good opportunities.

    “We had two or three massive chances, really big,” said the Clarets’ boss. “The one from Jay Rod (Rodriguez) where he is controlling the ball in front of the keeper and then slices it, the one from (Jacob) Bruun Larsen, one-on-one with the keeper, just takes his touch a little bit too far.

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    “I am a rational mind, I thought 14 new players, and you see City, United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham all within the first 10 games and you know this might be a difficult start but, if I look at the performance today, our moment will come.”

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    “It would be arrogant to say that because I was there, now I can manage everything. The demands always are completely different.

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    Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday when Pochettino will come up against another coach who knows intimately the unique demands of life at PSG, Unai Emery.

    Emery managed the club for two seasons between 2016-18, winning the title in his second year but joining the list of coaches unable to fulfil the club’s frustrated Champions League ambitions, twice going out in the last 16.

    He returned Villa to Europe for the first time in 12 years last season, finishing seventh in the Premier League after taking over from Steven Gerrard in October.

    “For myself and for Unai, (the job) is not to prove anything,” said Pochettino. “I think it is to try to help (our) clubs to achieve what the clubs want. I never feel that I need to prove something.

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