Manchester City 4-1 Aston Villa: 5 hits and flops as Phil Foden hat-trick guides City to big home win | Premier League 2023-24
Manchester City crushed Aston Villa 4-1 at the Etihad in the Premier League on Wednesday, powered by a sensational hat-trick from Phil Foden.
It took the holders only 11 minutes to break the deadlock as Rodri latched onto a brilliant cut-back from Jeremy Doku to fire home from close range. Against all odds, Villa fought back into the game nine minutes later.
Jhon Duran equalised for the visitors with a cool finish right through Stefan Ortega's legs. He raced into the box unchallenged and latched onto a defence-splitting pass from Morgan Rogers.
Foden, though, restored City's lead in the added minutes of the opening stanza with a stunning free-kick. He scored twice in the second half, including a top-drawer finish to wrap up his treble in the 69th minute.
Manchester City produced another fine performance to continue their title charge, sitting in third with 67 points from 30 games, just one point behind leaders Arsenal, but second-placed Liverpool, who are also on 67, have a game in hand.
Here are the five hits and flops from the game:
Hit: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Let's begin with Manchester City's man of the match. Phil Foden fired a sensational hat-trick to tear Aston Villa's defence apart in a devastating performance.
Lively and exuberant, Foden took his chances clinically to deliver an attacking masterclass. Two of his goals on the night were top-notch, a free-kick right through the Villa defence to open his account, and a delicate long-range strike to wrap up his treble.
The 23-year-old has been enjoying a remarkable campaign for the Sky Blues and continued his blistering run of form with three more goals that took his tally for the season to 21 across competitions.
Flop: Nicolo Zaniolo (Aston Villa)
There were promising signs from him in attack, but eventually Nicolo Zaniolo's performance left a lot to be desired. He failed to muster a shot on target, and didn't create any chances either.
The Italian was also at fault for City's second goal, as his sideways jump created enough space for Foden's effort to find the back of the net. In 77 minutes of action, the former AS Roma star completed only 11 passes.
Hit: Rodri (Manchester City)
Sky is the limit for Rodri, who has starred immensely for club and country this season. The Spaniard made a terrific finish in the first half to put City 1-0 up after 11 minutes before setting up Foden for the team's second goal.
As usual, Rodri was a dominant force in midfield, dictating the side's tempo with his deep-lying passes and charging forward into attacking zones whenever he sensed an opportunity.
He ran into the heart of Villa's backline to score City's first of the night with a simple finish off Jeremy Doku's cut-back for him inside the box. The midfielder then bagged a cheeky assist for Foden's second of the night.
Flop: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa)
Defensively, Lucas Digne endured a nightmare against Jeremy Doku, who twisted him inside out with his nimble footwork. The Frenchman was lacking in pace as well as physicality to deal with Doku's threat.
His forward runs were also limited as Manchester City kept the Villans on the backfoot with their high press. The former Barcelona defender attempted three crosses, but all went begging, as he completed only 20 passes all night.
Hit: Jeremy Doku (Manchester City)
What a talismanic display from the talented Belgian youngster, who ran rings around Aston Villa's defence with his electric energy, speed and incredible attacking flair.
Jeremy Doku's precocious dribbling skills were on full display, as the winger combined speed and tremendous ball-control to attempt eight dribbles on the evening, completing five.
He also won seven ground duels and laid out four key passes, a testament to his creative skills, but perhaps, the highlight of his match was the assist for Rodri. Doku pranced forward to connect with a defence-splitting pass from Foden and cheekily cut it back for the Spaniard to fire it home from close range.