There is an art to turning an awkward encounter into a procession to victory. The scoreline suggests a comfortable win for Manchester City. An even, uneventful first half indicated otherwise. Then Raheem Sterling intervened.
A goal 20 seconds into the second half was another indication of his capacity to be a catalyst. Aston Villa had threatened to derail City’s title challenge by marrying defensive resilience with counter-attacking menace. Instead they departed defeated and Pep Guardiola’s team halved their deficit to Liverpool. “Six days ago we were eight points [behind], now we are three,” said the City manager.
Sterling, once again, was terrific, allowing Guardiola to rest Sergio Aguero for the majority of the game and proving a role model to initially insipid colleagues.
“Raheem was the only player who was aggressive with the ball in the first half,” Guardiola said. “In the second half we imitate him.”
It was, indeed, a game of two halves. “If we play the level we played in the second half we will be there at the end of the season,” Guardiola said. “If we play the way we did in the first half, we will be relegated.”
And yet he has a guarantee of excellence. "Raheem is consistent," explained Guardiola. Sterling's standing is such that Villa doubled up on him at times. He was the constant and, if there was no repeat of his midweek hat-trick against Atalanta, he could have been involved in a trio of goals: City claimed a penalty when his shot struck Bjorn Engels. His header flew past the post, while he teed up David Silva, who was unusually imprecise with his finish when afforded a golden chance.
“We have to play for 90 minutes, not just 45,” said Guardiola. As City are often swift starters, there was a twist to a familiar plot. This time they began the second half at speed; after a slowburner, where only Sterling brought a spark, it was ignited immediately.
Ederson’s punt was headed on by Gabriel Jesus, making a rare Premier League start at the Etihad, and Sterling sprinted clear to direct a shot through Tom Heaton’s legs.
“All their intricate passing it comes from a big kick from the goalkeeper,” said the Villa manager Dean Smith. “Tyrone Mings should do better, and he knows that, but then a top player like Raheem Sterling puts it in the back of the net.”
It amounted to a day when Jesus almost scored: the game was bookended by misses, the latter when he hit the bar. In between, he came still closer when Mings displayed powers of recovery that ought to have impressed the watching Gareth Southgate. The defender materialised on the goal-line to produce a remarkable clearance after Jesus shot and Heaton got a hand to it.
Victory was sealed, following a VAR check, when Kevin de Bruyne exchanged passes with Benjamin Mendy from a corner, whipped in a cross. Cue confusion and controversy. David Silva may have got the deftest of touches and claimed it but the Belgian was deemed the scorer by the Dubious Goals Panel
“Hopefully VAR can spend five minutes finding out who scored,” Guardiola said. Smith was less happy. “I would question City's second goal,” he said. “I think Raheem Sterling is offside and he impedes the goalkeeper from making the save.”
It was easier to award the third to Ilkay Gundogan, who displayed technique to volley in the third, even if there was an element of surprise that it did not arrive seconds earlier when Bernardo Silva had a more presentable chance. “Top players punish you but the third one is from a set-piece,” Smith added. “It’s the manner of the goals really.”
Something of a fraught finale followed. Fernandinho collected City’s second needless dismissal in as many games, a foul on Keinan Davis bringing a slightly early departure. If it marred his 200th Premier League game, he was unlikely to have faced Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday anyway.
John McGinn then struck the post, though his crucial chance came in a first half when Villa married defensive solidity with an endearing fearlessness. Ederson made a terrific double save from McGinn and Douglas Luiz.
“We showed some good enterprise going forward,” Smith added. But, once again, Sterling provided the pivotal touch.
