Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City

Aston Villa produced a commanding performance to beat reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.

Unai Emery’s team set about their opponents from the off, seeing Jhon Durán and Pau Torres go close inside the opening two minutes.

Their superiority was rewarded soon after when Durán slotted past Stefan Ortega after being teed up by Morgan Rogers to score for the fourth consecutive game.

Confidence flowed through Villa as they continued to control proceedings, netting their second when Rogers picked out the bottom corner with a low drive after 65 minutes.

Phil Foden pulled a goal back in stoppage time but it failed to dampen the jubilant atmosphere inside the stadium at full-time.

Victory made it seven league games unbeaten on home turf and saw the team move above City in the table, with a game against Newcastle United next up on Boxing Day.

Amadou Onana made his return to the starting XI as Villa set about replicating their victory in the corresponding fixture last season, with the match-winner from that game, Leon Bailey, returning to the bench after a three match absence.

City arrived in B6 on their worst run of form since 2006, having lost eight of their last 11 outings, and they came close to handing Villa the lead after just 17 seconds.

John McGinn nicked the ball off a hesitant Josko Gvardiol, leaving Durán clean through on goal. The striker set himself before seeing his low shot palmed behind by Ortega.

From the resulting corner, the City ‘keeper made an even better save, clawing Torres’ near post header onto the underside of the crossbar and away, with replays showing the ball was just millimetres from crossing the whole of the line.

The visitors were struggling to retain possession as the home side pressed them all over the pitch, and Villa were rewarded for their bright start with the opening goal on 16 minutes.

Youri Tielemans did superbly to turn away from pressure before releasing Rogers with a precise through ball. The playmaker advanced on goal before squaring to teammate Durán, watching on as the striker clipped the ball past Ortega to send Villa Park wild.

Aside from a couple of wayward Jack Grealish efforts, City had posed Villa few problems before Emi Martínez was required to palm Foden’s placed shot around the post nine minutes before half-time.

The reigning champions put together their best move of the match shortly before the interval, with marauding Gvardiol heading Grealish’s cross over from close-range after starting a speedy counter-attack.

Villa quickly got themselves back on the front foot when the second half got up and running, seeing Matty Cash hammer an effort into the side-netting before Durán had a goal chalked off for a tight offside call.

The Colombian was giving the visiting defenders a torrid afternoon, and he nearly embarrassed Ortega when he slid in to block the ‘keeper’s clearance, with the ball rebounding to a City player.

Moments later, Durán linked up superbly with Rogers, flicking the ball through to his teammate, whose shot struck the outside of the post.

Rogers, who spent four years with the Cityzens, was in the mood to get himself on the scoresheet, and he accomplished that feat when he pulled a shot across Ortega and inside the far post after 65 minutes.

It was the perfect finish following a superb solo run to start the move, which saw him feed the ball to McGinn before receiving it back from the Villa skipper, and he duly celebrated in front of the Holte End.

Ollie Watkins came on to give his fellow striker a well-deserved rest with ten minutes left, quickly testing Ortega with a vicious strike.

Following a virtuoso display, Rogers was given a standing ovation as the game ticked into stoppage time, with City pulling a goal back shortly after when Foden pounced on a loose ball in the box.

It mattered little, however, as the stadium erupted in celebration when the final whistle sounded a minute later.