Pep Guardiola Reacts After Man City Loses 1-0 to Aston Villa at Villa Park
- Aston Villa narrowly beat Manchester City 1-0 at Villa Park on Sunday evening, October 26
- A lone goal from Matty Cash ensured The Villans recorded their fourth consecutive win of the season
- Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has described the home team as Champions League material
Aston Villa recorded their fourth win of the 2025/26 English Premier League on Sunday evening, October 26.
Matty Cash first first-half goal ensured Villa secured a valuable win over Manchester City at Villa Park, with manager Unai Emery celebrating his third anniversary in charge.
The Polish defender drilled home from the edge of the penalty box after a corner routine from Emiliano Buendia.
Source: Getty Images
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez stopped Erling Haaland's one-on-one, while Scottish John McGinn saw an edge-of-the-box effort deflected wide when the play opened up for him on his 200th Premier League start.
Manchester City were impressive in the second half, and Dutch star Tijjani Reijnders wastefully dragged wide of the left-hand post at the end of a mazy run.
Villa's midfielder McGinn then saw a close-range volley blocked from another low Villa corner, while at the other end, Pau Torres brilliantly cleared from just off the goalline from the second of two Savinho efforts.
City's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma redeemed himself after spilling a Jadon Sancho centre to stop his follow-up shot.
The visitors thought they had found the leveller when Omar Marmoush's low centre was bundled home by a sliding Haaland, but Villa were relieved to see the former pinged for offside.
Aston Villa's record
Aston Villa have recorded their third straight home win in the Premier League this season.
According to beIN Sports, the Villans are also unbeaten in 31 top-flight home games when scoring first since a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in February 2023.
Matty Cash has two Premier League goals against City, his joint-most against one opponent in the competition (also two against Burnley).
Man City coach reacts
Speaking after the match, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola commended Unai Emery for transforming Aston Villa.
According to BirminghamLive, the former Barcelona coach said Emery's side is a UEFA Champions League team. He said:
“They are a Champions League team. They are not in the Champions League this season, but a top, top team for many years.
“It is a tough, tough place [Villa Park]. Unai always sets up good things. It is a really good team. I admire them - they do very good things.
"In general, we were there. The shots, crosses, and blocks. They defended really well and the goalkeeper is fantastic. In general, I don't have much complaint, little details but good."
Guardiola speaks on Arsenal and Liverpool's chances
Legit.ng earlier reported that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Arsenal will maintain their strong form and avoid dropping unnecessary points this season.
The Spanish tactician praised Liverpool for their impressive performance against Manchester United in their previous match, noting that they were simply unlucky not to win.
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Source: Legit.ng
