Man City had the lowest number of shots of a Pep Guardiola team EVER in the top flight in their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa and didn’t shoot after the 11th minute… as statistics reveal just how badly the champions were dominated
- The statistics behind Man City's loss at Aston Villa are among his worst ever
- Only at Barcelona B has Pep Guardiola's team managed to score fewer shots in the competition
- CHRIS SUTTON: I would have been angry like Erling Haaland, but why did it take six or seven City players going to the referee? It all starts
Manchester City had the lowest number of shots ever by a top side Pep Guardiola in their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
City's two shots are the most paltry of any Guardiola side, while the 22 attempts they conceded are the most any of his teams have ever faced.
Leon Bailey's deflected strike was enough to separate the sides as Villa leapfrogged City with an extraordinary performance on Wednesday evening.
The statistics behind City's defeat, which saw City drop to fourth in the Premier League, show just how well Unai Emery has executed his Midlands project.
Guardiola has overseen City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but only Barcelona B has one of his teams attempted fewer goals.
Man City managed just two shots against Aston Villa – the fewest total by a Pep Guardiola team ever in top-flight football
Villa thwarted City, not allowing them a single shot after eleven minutes, while also having the most shots against a Guardiola team in a top-flight match (22)
The Premier League champions were without a shot after 11 minutes as Villa swarmed the penalty area.
But the grim reading doesn't stop there.
Guardiola has led City through 281 league games, but against Villa they recorded their 23rd lowest possession rate (53.9 percent), according to Opta.
They also produced their 25th lowest number of successful passes: 454.
That's a far cry from their record-breaking performances in the past: against Swansea in 2018, they completed a whopping 942 passes.
All this is a big compliment for Aston Villa, who have now won fourteen home games in the Premier League.
Villa sit third in the league and are also third in the calendar year table, eight points less than City in 2023 and two less than Arsenal.
Bailey may have flown under the radar behind Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby, but has now scored eight goals to his name in all competitions.
That is already his best return since signing from Bayer Leverkusen for £30 million in July 2021.
Guardiola has spent fourteen and a half seasons in charge of top clubs but has never seen any of his teams score just two shots
Leon Bailey scored the only goal as Aston Villa dominated the Premier League champions
It was a frustrating evening for Erling Haaland, whose two games without a goal is almost a drought by his exceptional standards
