BIRMINGHAM/BENGALURU:
Aston Villa beat crisis-hit Manchester Metropolis 2-1 on Saturday to heap extra distress on floundering supervisor Pep Guardiola, who has now suffered 9 defeats in his previous 12 matches.
Jhon Duran completed off a wonderful group transfer to present the house aspect an early lead and Morgan Rogers doubled Villa’s benefit within the sixty fifth minute.
Phil Foden scored his first Premier League objective of the season in stoppage time but it surely proved to be too little too late.
Pep Guardiola, within the worst run of his glittering profession, stated Friday that “eventually” issues will flip round however Metropolis’s concern issue has vanished.
The win lifts Unai Emery’s inconsistent Villa group to fifth within the Premier League desk, one place above sinking Metropolis.
Guardiola made six modifications to the group aspect that misplaced final week’s Manchester derby, bringing in goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and reshaping his defence with Rico Lewis, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
Mateo Kovacic and Jack Grealish additionally returned.
However the defending champions began the match in chaotic style and will have been behind inside 20 seconds.
Untidy work from Josko Gvardiol allowed John McGinn to steal the ball and he fed Duran, whose shot from outdoors the field was pushed behind by Ortega.
Villa have been millimetres away from taking the lead from the ensuing nook, with Ortega, in for first-choice goalkeeper Ederson, producing an outstanding save to disclaim Pau Torres.
Metropolis then settled and their possession numbers topped 75 p.c however they created little.
As a substitute it was Villa who took the lead by way of Duran after an outstanding group transfer, scoring his seventh Premier League objective of the season.
Youri Tielemans delivered an exquisite defence-splitting cross to Rogers, who burst by way of Metropolis’s backline with ease earlier than discovering Duran on his proper and the Colombian worldwide completed crisply.
Phil Foden examined Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez within the thirty fifth minute after an incisive transfer involving Lewis.
And Gvardiol squandered an excellent likelihood moments earlier than half-time, heading over a Grealish cross.
Guardiola introduced on Kyle Walker for Stones on the break.
Minutes into the second half Villa’s Matty Money lashed an try into the aspect netting after a speedy assault earlier than Duran had a strike dominated out for offside.
Everton’s new house owners again Dyche as supervisor
Everton supervisor Sean Dyche stated he has the assist of the membership’s new house owners however that he must ship on the sector to show himself.
Friedkin Group accomplished the takeover of the Premier League membership on Thursday, in the course of a season the place the group has struggled on the pitch, sitting sixteenth within the desk with solely three wins in 15 matches.
“You have to win video games, that does not change and I am effectively conscious of that,” Dyche instructed reporters on Friday. “They talked about that in this era of shopping for the membership they’ve completed a number of homework and so they perceive the challenges that I have been by way of and we now have collectively been by way of.”
Dyche stated Everton’s new govt chairman, Marc Watts, had expressed his assist for the supervisor, who led the membership by way of a tumultuous 2023-24 marketing campaign the place they fought to keep away from relegation after being docked eight factors for breaching the league’s monetary guidelines. “He stated, ‘We have no motive to query you. Each motive to assist what you’ve got been doing and hopefully assist it additional going forwards’,” Dyche stated. “The plain caveat is what I am saying, not what they’re saying. I do know you’ve got nonetheless received to win video games. When you’re profitable video games, hopefully, you proceed to construct a relationship. And that is after they go, ‘Proper, you are our man otherwise you’re not our man’.”
Watts stated the brand new administration understood that the membership had confronted important challenges on and off the sector for a number of years. AFP/REUTERS