Manchester City moved up to second in the Premier League after Michael Johnson scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over Aston Villa.

City maintained their 100% home record under Sven-Goran Eriksson with a hard-earned victory at Eastlands.

Teenage midfielder Johnson was the matchwinner with a well-taken strike in the 48th minute, just as he had been in the single-goal victory over Derby.

Villa fought hard in a frenetic match but were unable to create one real clear chance.

City took the lead soon after the restart. Johnson and Elano exchanged passes in central midfield before the 19-year-old jinked past Martin Laursen, burst into the box and fired a low right-foot shot past Scott Carson and into the corner for his second of the season.

Luke Moore had a goal disallowed for pushing with 17 minutes to go as the luck favoured City.