Manchester, April 23 (IANS) Matheus Nunes scored a dramatic 94th-minute winner as Manchester City secured a crucial three points in the race for the Champions League with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
Nunes side-footed home at the back post, his first goal in the Premier League for City, after being found by Jeremy Doku deep into stoppage time, as Pep Guardiola’s sode made their sustained pressure count.
City had taken the lead in the seventh minute when Bernardo Silva blasted home Omar Marmoush’s pull-back from the byline.
But the visitors were level through Marcus Rashford 10 minutes later with a controversial penalty after Ruben Dias was adjudged to have tripped Jacob Ramsey.
City kept pushing for a winner and it finally arrived when Nunes showed perfect timing to steer in a late goal to snatch a crucial win over our rivals for the top five.
“It was very important. I mean this was a very tough game and a very tough opponent. We came with the mentality that we needed to win this game and that’s what happened.” Nunes said.
On his first Premier League goal of the season he said, he added, “Perfect timing! It couldn’t have come at a better time. We will see at the end of the season how big it will be. Every three points now will be very important. We will go for every game for the three points.”
The result takes City up to third in the Premier League table, one point clear of fourth-placed Nottingham Forest and two ahead of Newcastle United in fifth. Villa stayed seventh, two points off the top five.
I’m really happy. We’re in the last four in the last five games and a Champions League contender for qualification.
“Aston Villa is a team to the last man, one of the top teams in Europe. We played really good. We were aggressive in our duels, the back-four was unbelievable.
“Football is emotion. For the fans, players, we have a lot of pressure for the club to go to the Champions League. The players behave unbelievable – we are so pleased. The action from Jeremy Doku, he can create something with his pace,” said Guardiola after the win.
City will be back in action at Wembley on April 27 for an FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest. Guardiola’s side are aiming to reach the FA Cup final for a third successive season.
–IANS
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