THE NOTEBOOK: Rodri enjoys his best ever goalscoring season, Man City play hardball over banner-gate… and Robin Olsen replaces stricken Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez
- Manchester City kept up the pressure on title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool
- Phil Foden scored a stunning hat-trick in the win over Aston Villa
- Have a day off, Pep! Guardiola’s lecture to Grealish at Etihad pitch was unnecessary, says Ian Ladyman – It all starts
Phil Foden scored a brilliant hat-trick as Manchester City kept up the pressure in the Premier League title race with a 4-1 win over Champions League chasers Aston Villa.
A day after defending his star player against Roy Keane’s criticism, Pep Guardiola left Erling Haaland on the bench alongside Kevin De Bruyne, clearing the stage for Foden to take the spotlight with an excellent performance and his second hat-trick of the campaign.
After Jhon Duran canceled out Rodri’s opener, the 23-year-old put City back ahead with a free-kick late in the first half, before two excellent strikes settled the situation just after the hour, putting Foden on 21 City goals before the season came. .
Pep Guardiola’s side remain third, one point behind leaders Arsenal and level on points with Liverpool – who host Sheffield United on Thursday – after their first win over a top five side this season.
Mail Sport’s Nathan Salt takes a look at some of the things you might have missed.
A banner criticizing Manchester City over season ticket prices was seized at the Etihad
City plays hard over banner-gate
Banner-gate was once again a hot topic as fans flocked to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.
An 1894 Group banner criticizing the club for season ticket prices – reading ‘Record profits but record prices, stop exploiting our loyalty’ – was seized ahead of the weekend’s stalemate against Arsenal.
Many of those involved had assumed that, despite being preoccupied ahead of the Arsenal game, they would be fine to flourish here against Villa – and that wasn’t the case.
Some fans had accreditation, which gave them early access to the line-up, which they moved from their seats on Sunday as a result of the banner row and did not return to their seats in time for Villa’s visit.
Fans are certainly not happy… but when the banner will appear at the Etihad again is a mystery.
Worth the wait
What an evening for young Tim Iroegbunham.
The 20-year-old midfielder received a huge vote of confidence from his manager as he was handed just his second Premier League start… away to Manchester City.
He has not had such a nod since a 2-0 win at Villa Park over Norwich City in April 2022.
It takes a long time.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen came into action because Emiliano Martinez was ill
Olsen back in action
221 – That’s the number of days since Robin Olsen last started a Premier League match.
He didn’t expect to play a role tonight, especially when Emiliano Martinez was named in the starting line-up.
But the illness got the better of Martinez before the warm-up and the Swede was told to get ready for the start.
To be fair, he might have conceded four, but this was a commendable performance being on the sidelines for so long.
Pep still talks about the city
It felt fitting that in a week that saw the launch of a Netflix documentary on City’s Treble-winning season, a Pep Guardiola team talk – around which the series largely revolves – was recreated for the cover of the matchday programme.
The six-part series showed the good, the bad and the ugly of those conversations – many of which were crucial on the road to the Treble – and the program worked brilliantly as a conversation starter as they approached the ground.
The silent chairs
A handful of fans in the swanky corporate seats next to the press box were smacked by city staff as they wildly celebrated Jhon Duran’s equalizer.
About a dozen people jumped out of their plush seats and into the air, with plenty of back slaps and hugs, before a nearby steward gave a calm – but firm – word that there should be no repeat.
Fortunately, City’s players ensured that a second round would not take place.
Man City midfielder Rodri took his tally to eight goals by opening the scoring against Villa
Rodri strikes again
Rodri, who made it 1-0, has now scored eight goals for Manchester City in all competitions this season.
That is his highest number in a single campaign in his club career.
He showed how to go about it – calling on the winner of the Champions League final against Inter Milan – and scored goal No. 8 to set City up against Villa.
