A controversial penalty seemed to have secured a point for Villa, but there was a late twist.
Matheus Nunes scored a late goal set up by Jeremy Doku in injury time to condemn Villa to defeat here.
Emi Martinez was criticised for his role in the first goal, but Axel Disasi was at fault for the second as Jeremy Doku skipped past the £39m Chelsea loanee to seal the win for City.
Speaking on Premier League Productions after the game, Owen Hargreaves has been discussing Disasi’s role in this goal, and he says that Unai Emery may never trust the defender again after this incident.
Axel Disasi has lost Unai Emery’s trust
Hargreaves spoke about Disasi’s mistake and how Emery will have reacted.
The pundit reckons Emery won’t forgive Disasi for this error, claiming that the centre-back could have just cost his team a place in next season’s Champions League.
“That also came from a mistake from Disasi where he gambles, that late in the game if you have a manager like Unai Emery, Pep or Sir Alex, you can’t make that mistake, because he won’t forgive you for it, it could cost you the Champions League. If you’re Disasi, just keep Doku in front of you, you know where he’s going,” Hargreaves said.
Aston Villa’s route to the Champions League
Aston Villa now face an uphill battle to make it to next season’s Champions League, and, frustratingly, it’s hard to see the Villans getting the job done from here.
Villa can reach a maximum of 69 points from here, but they’d be reliant on teams above them dropping multiple points, and they’re at a disadvantage due to the games in hand that Newcastle and Chelsea both have.
Luckily for Villa, their fixture list from here on in is rather kind.
Fulham and Bournemouth are both decent sides, but Villa should be able to get past both of those teams.
Meanwhile, Tottenham and Manchester United are traditionally top teams, but, this season, Spurs and United have been terrible.
Villa’s fate isn’t in their own hands at this point, but they do still stand half a chance of making the Champions League if they can win each of their remaining four games.
