"The better team won"- Pep Guardiola admits Manchester City are 'struggling' after Aston Villa loss
Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City are 'struggling' after their 1-0 Premier League loss to Aston Villa on Wednesday (6 December).
Leon Bailey's deflected shot found its way into the net 16 minutes before time and proved to be the winner for Unai Emery's side. While Villa needed luck for that goal, their hard work and tactical brilliance were there for all to see.
They kept 46% of the ball against the Cityzens, by no means a small feat against a Guardiola-led side, and recorded 2.38 xG from a staggering tally of 22 shots. Manchester City, in response, had an xG of 0.65 and managed just two shots on goal in the entire match.
The Villans were also getting the better of the visitors in the 50-50s, winning 52 duels as compared to Manchester City's 37. It was one of the rare occasions where Manchester City were played out of the park.
In a week where Arsenal and Liverpool won their respective league games, City's loss came as a dent to their title hopes. Guardiola admitted after the game that the Cityzens were 'struggling' and that the better team won on the day.
The Spaniard said, via the Mirror:
"The better team won... It was really difficult because they are really physical and able to control many aspects. That is the reason why they are up there, playing good football and we could not do it.
"It’s my duty, my job to find a way to come back from the situation because over many years together we were able to find a way to play games – sometimes playing good, sometimes not but always we found a way to do it – and now we are struggling. We have to change the dynamic."
With the win, Aston Villa overtook Manchester City in the table and now hold a two-point lead over them after 15 matches.
Arsenal and Liverpool extend lead over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City
Manchester City are now six points adrift of league leaders Arsenal after the Cityzens' first loss to Aston Villa in over a decade.
Declan Rice scored a late goal in second-half stoppage time to help his team beat 4-3 at Kenilworth Road earlier this week. They still sit at the top of the table with 36 points after 15 gameweeks.
Liverpool remained two points within the summit after a hard-fought 2-0 away win against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Manchester City have now dropped to fourth with 30 points, leading Tottenham Hotspur, who have a game in hand, by three points.
City drew three league games in a row — against Chelsea (4-4), Liverpool (1-1), and Tottenham (3-3) — before losing to the Villans.