Guardiola names Aston Villa stars who caused Man City problems

Pep Guardiola believed Manchester City were in control against Aston Villa despite their opponents having players who were constant “dangers”.

City claimed a 2-0 win over Villa after leaving it late. Bernardo Silva scored a controversial opener before Ilkay Gundogan converted a penalty to see City come out on top.

Villa felt aggrieved as it had been a closely-fought battle, and decisions had gone against them – but City boss Guardiola thinks the result was fair.

“I had the feeling we controlled the game,” he told Match of the Day. “The top four players they have, players like Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley, the feeling is that wow, you feel the dangers in every actions.

“We arrived at the byline many times but could not score the goal. But Bernando Silva was there and his goal made the difference.

“We struggled against Brighton in the last game – they are one of the best teams for creating chances, so it has been hard for us. Maybe they are not clinical but they are good.

“It was 5-7 minutes where Aston Villa had two or three chances. When they can run with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley but we make actions and control the passes.”


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Guardiola quiet over first goal

The first goal came with questions over the involvement of Rodri, who had been in an offside position.

Asked if it should have been ruled out, Guardiola said: “We didn’t see it but there is VAR. It is here.

“I’m not going to analyse the game but in against a top team we have come up with a brilliant performance.”

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