Man City 4-1 Aston Villa: Player ratings as Foden hat-trick helps champions to victory

Manchester City kept pace with their Premier League title rivals on Wednesday evening with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa courtesy of a Phil Foden hat-trick.

Both sides demonstrated their attacking qualities in an entertaining first half at the Etihad, with Foden putting Man City in front at the break after Jhon Duran had cancelled out Rodri's early opener.

Foden secured the result with three excellent goals after the restart, with the champions moving level on points with Liverpool ahead of their clash with Sheffield United on Thursday night.

How the game unfolded

Pep Guardiola raised a few eyebrows by leaving both Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland on the bench, but it had little impact on City as they raced into an early lead. Jeremy Doku found space for a cross on the right and picked out Rodri inside the box, with the Spaniard firing high into the net with 11 minutes played.

However, Aston Villa had shown their teeth on the counter-attack amid City's territorial dominance, and Duran took advantage of a rare start to fire Unai Emery's side level. The Colombian played a neat one-two with Morgan Rogers and fired a fantastic low finish past Stefan Oretga from a tight angle.

City continued to threaten in the final third and could have found themselves back in front shortly after. Jack Grealish's volleyed effort bounced wide of the far post against his former side, with Julian Alvarez seeing his close-range strike rebuffed by the outstretched leg of stand-in Robin Olsen.

But the hosts did find a route to goal just moments before the half-time whistle and it came directly from a free-kick. Foden struck a powerful shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards out, but a sizeable gap in the Villa wall was what ultimately proved costly for the visitors.

City flew out of the blocks after the restart and Olsen was responsible for keeping Villa in the game with quickfire saves from Doku and Bernardo Silva, the latter from point-blank range. But Villa responded swiftly under pressure with Douglas Luiz stinging Ortega's palms and Clement Lenglet seeing his header saved from the subsequent corner.

Guardiola's side did eventually grab a third and put the game to bed, and it was Foden who provided the finishing touch once again. Rodri danced past a Villa challenge on the edge of the area and fed the 23-year-old, who slotted calmly off the inside of the post with a controlled effort.

But Foden wasn't done there and grabbed his hat-trick with 20 minutes left to put the icing on the cake. The England international won the ball back in the Villa half after initially surrendering possession and lashed a stunning strike directly into Olsen's left-hand top corner from distance.

Sergio Gomez almost added a fifth in stoppage time but his near-post effort clipped the post, with City easing to a comfortable victory to put pressure on Arsenal and Liverpool.

Man City player ratings (4-1-4-1)

GK: Stefan Ortega - 7/10 - Matched the majority of what came his way, although he couldn't prevent Duran's first half effort.

RB: Rico Lewis - 6/10 - A quiet game from the youngster, who wasn't overly involved in either half for Man City.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 7/10 - Stepped into midfield to create the overload and won a number of his duels with the physical Duran.

CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - Beaten too easily on the one-two that led to Villa's opener but grew into the game and put in a solid performance.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 6/10 - Endured a difficult evening up against Moussa Diaby but settled after the break.

DM: Rodri - 9/10 - Produced a smart run and finish to fire Man City ahead and set up Foden's second of the night with a clever pass. Another terrific display, as expected.

RM: Jeremy Doku - 8/10 - Another lovely display from the Belgian who took every opportunity to run at his markers. Created the opener with a precise cross.

CM: Phil Foden - 10/10 - Another magical display from Foden, for whom we are running out of superlatives. Three excellent strikes in an effortless and dazzling performance.

CM: Bernardo Silva - 6/10 - Not his busiest evening and was outshone by some of his midfield teammates.

LM: Jack Grealish - 6/10 - Met with a chorus of boos from the away fans following every touch, but didn't do much to silence them despite some lively moments.

ST: Julian Alvarez - 7/10 - The Argentine was heavily involved in the final third and linked up well with Foden and others. Spurned a few good openings.

Substitutes

SUB: Mateo Kovacic (75' for Rodri) - 6/10

SUB: Matheus Nunes (75' for Silva) - 6/10

SUB: Sergio Gomez (80' for Doku) - 6/10

SUB: Oscar Bobb (80' for Foden) - 6/10

Subs not used: Scott Carson (GK), John Stones, Mahamadou Susoho, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland.

Manager

Pep Guardiola - 8/10 - A fantastic attacking display from his side, who fought their way through some difficult moments to secure a crucial victory in the title race.

Aston Villa player ratings (4-4-1-1)

GK: Robin Olsen - 7/10 - Helpless for all of the Man City goals and it would have been a lot more if it wasn't for his sharp reflexes.

RB: Ezri Konsa - 6/10 - Dealt with Grealish well and performed admirably in an unusual position.

CB: Diego Carlos - 6/10 - Didn't do an awful lot wrong on an individual level but was part of a defence that shipped four goals.

CB: Clement Lenglet - 6/10 - His header was well saved at 2-1, but he couldn't do anything to stop Man City's electric forward line.

LB: Lucas Digne - 5/10 - Struggled up against the lightning quick feet of Doku, with Man City's winger causing him all manner of problems.

RM: Nicolo Zaniolo - 5/10 - Influential in the final third for Villa during the first half but he created the gap in the wall that saw Foden put Man City in front from a free-kick before the break.

CM: Tim Iroegbunam - 6/10 - A mature performance from the youngster, who didn't look out of place against an elite Man City midfield.

CM: Douglas Luiz - 6/10 - Offered some positive moments on the counter-attack but was guilty of giving away some needless fouls in his own half, one of which led to Foden's first goal.

LM: Morgan Rogers - 6/10 - Full of confidence and set up the opener with a beautifully weighted pass. His influence waned as the game wore on.

AM: Moussa Diaby - 7/10 - Peeled into the right channel effectively and caused Gvardiol some issues with his pace and direct runs.

ST: Jhon Duran - 7/10 - Ollie Watkins' absence wasn't felt too dearly in the end, with Duran finding the back of the net with a finish that his teammate would have been proud of. Having said that, he needs to improve his hold-up play.

Substitutes

SUB: Youri Tielemans (63' for Luiz) - 5/10

SUB: Leon Bailey (63' for Diaby) - 6/10

SUB: Calum Chambers (63' for Iroegbunam) - 5/10

SUB: Alex Moreno (71' for Duran) - 6/10

SUB: Omari Kellyman (77' for Zaniolo) - 6/10

Subs not used: Joe Gauci (GK), Pau Torres, Kaine Kesler-Hayden.

Manager

Unai Emery - 5/10 - His side didn't do an awful lot wrong and had their fair share of chances. Ultimately, key injuries and Man City's superior quality proved the difference.

Player of the match: Phil Foden (Man City)

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