Man City 2 Aston Villa 1: Matheus Nunes scores dramatic 94th-minute winner in massive twist in race for Champions League
IF Manchester City make it to the Champions League then Matheus Nunes will be the toast of the Etihad.
And hands up who could have imagined that.
The £52million midfielder was the unlikely hero sliding home a huge winner deep into stoppage time.
He has endured a difficult couple of years at the Etihad since joining from Wolves in summer 2023.
Nunes has been used as a makeshift full-back in recent weeks and has done a good job for Pep Guardiola.
But few would have expected him to be the match-winner here.
This Champions League showdown seemed to be inching towards a draw until sub Jeremy Doku broke clear down the left.
His low cross flashed across the face of goal and there was Nunes to slide it home at the back post.
With Bernardo Silva also on the scoresheet, this was a night for Pep’s Portugeezers.
And all that just when it looked like Marcus Rashford would have the last laugh on his return to Manchester.
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He coolly stroked home a first half penalty which looked certain to earn his team a point.
But in the end it proved to be in vain – and surely City will get the points they need for Champions League qualification from here.
Ollie Watkins admitted he was fuming at being left out against PSG last week – and here he was on the bench again.
However the visitors arrived on the back of 10 win out of 11 in all competitions – and five in a row in the league – so nobody was going to argue with Unai Emery’s selection.
And the man picked to start up front in his place, Rashford, almost made an instant impact inside the first 30 seconds.
He took a pass from Youri Tielemans in his stride and turned Ruben Dias inside out before firing a low shot against the base of the post.
The boyhood United man would have enjoyed that had it gone in but it bounced out straight into the hands of Stefan Ortega.
Omar Marmoush got away down the left hand side and crossed into path of Bernardo Silva whose shot just had enough to beat Emi Martinez.
The Argentine World Cup winner might be a little disappointed he could not keep it out.
But in a week when his future has again been the subject of speculation, Silva was thrilled to score his first goal since Boxing Day.
Yet the lead lasted only 11 minutes.
Dias seemed to clip Jacob Ramsey as he burst into the box and at first Craig Pawson waved away the appeals.
But VAR John Brooks asked him to look at the monitor and he pointed to the spot.
Replays showed some contact from the knee of Dias but the Villa man went down rather easily.
The home crowd were furious and so was Guardiola, who was booked for his reaction.
Rashford didn’t let the protests affect him as he sent Ortega the wrong way from the spot to score his fourth goal for his temporary club.
For all his ups and downs, Rashford has generally enjoyed playing against City – and once again he proved to be the scourge of Guardiola’s team.
This was the fifth time he has found the net against them during the Spaniard’s nine year reign – only Mo Salah and Jamie Vardy have got more.
City picked themselves up though and continued to enjoy plenty of the ball as well as some decent chances.
Marmoush has really perked up their season since he arrived and his cross flicked off the head of Kevin De Bruyne but was straight into the arms of Martinez this time.
Meanwhile Nico O’Reilly sent over a cross from the left that found the head of the onrushing Marmoush but he nodded over the bar.
At the other end Rashford got in behind the home defence but Ortega stayed big as he tried to nick it past him.
City fans had staged another protest before kick-off over the club’s ticketing policies and some had even stayed away.
Yet they missed an entertaining first half. As well as going head to head for top five places, these two could meet again in the FA Cup final next month.
Chances continued to come after the break with most of them were coming City’s way with defensive pair Josko Gvardiol and Dias both going close.
De Bruyne produced a superb ball over the top which was controlled by James McAtee but his clever lob of Martinez just dropped the wrong side of the post.
And the makeshift forward also failed to get a decent connection on a delightful low cross from O’Reilly.
'It wasn't a trip' - Mark Halsey's view
By Mark Halsey
FORMER Premier League referee Mark Halsey has given his verdict on the penalty call…
“I would not have given a penalty in real time. It was normal contact and a coming together between two players.
“Pawson was in a great position and also did not see it as a foul. Dias was trying to get out of the way and Ramsey has been clever in winning the pen.
“The next question is why has VAR got involved? It wasn’t a clear and obvious error. It’s subjective.”
The Prem match centre posted on X: “VAR checked the referee’s call of no penalty to Aston Villa for a challenge by Dias on Ramsey – and deemed there was a clear trip and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned the original decision and awarded a penalty.”
But Halsey added: “It wasn’t a trip. Pawson should have been stronger when he was sent to the monitor and stuck to his original decision.”
On Guardiola’s reaction, Halsey said: “Guardiola was frustrated and rightly so but he cannot act like that on the touchline. He needs to set an example.”
City had won their last 14 home games against Villa before this – but this was proving a real challenge.
And the home side were reluctant to push forward too much – knowing how dangerous Villa are on the break.
And that was shown as former City youngster Morgan Rogers played through Rashford who went round Ortega but fired into the side-netting.
Marmoush thought he had won it late on but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag.
Villa seemed to have settled for a point but City had other ideas and once again Doku made a difference from the bench.
Deep into stoppage time he ran at the visitors defence and Nunes did the rest.