Aston Villa marked Unai Emery’s third anniversary as manager with a memorable 1–0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday, thanks to a brilliant first-half strike from Matty Cash.
The win — Villa’s fourth consecutive Premier League victory — lifted them to seventh place and handed them a third straight home win over Pep Guardiola’s side. It also ended City’s nine-match unbeaten run across all competitions, leaving the champions six points behind leaders Arsenal.
City nearly took the lead early in the game when Tijjani Reijnders fired just over the bar in the sixth minute. But Villa soon found their rhythm, and in the 19th minute, a short corner found Emiliano Buendia, whose cross was met by Cash. The Polish full-back controlled the ball beautifully before curling a low shot into the bottom corner.
“It was a nice strike,” Cash told the BBC. “I’ve scored four this season for club and country. On the edge of the box, I like shooting — it’s what I love to do in training.”
City’s best chance came moments later when Erling Haaland saw his close-range effort saved by Emiliano Martinez after Bernardo Silva broke the offside trap. From there, Villa dominated proceedings, with John McGinn and Ollie Watkins both coming close to extending the lead.
In the second half, Villa’s defence held firm as Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres made crucial blocks to deny Savinho, while substitute Jadon Sancho tested Gianluigi Donnarumma twice from a tight angle.
City thought they had equalised late on when Haaland slid home at the far post, but Phil Foden was ruled offside in the buildup, confirming Villa’s victory.
After the match, Guardiola admitted his side fell short. “In the first half, the pressing wasn’t good; in the second half, it was better. We were not aggressive enough. We will learn from that. It’s a long journey — we’ll try to be close at the end,” he told Sky Sports.
The result capped off a special day for Unai Emery, who continues to transform Aston Villa into one of the most consistent and dangerous sides in the Premier League.
