Guardiola hails rare late show as City edge Aston Villa

Pep Guardiola revels in a rare stoppage-time winner as Manchester City clinch a vital 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League top five race

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]anchester City manager Pep Guardiola expressed his delight and surprise after Matheus Nunes secured a dramatic 2-1 victory against Aston Villa with a stoppage-time winner at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

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Guardiola admitted that such late triumphs are not typical for his side compared to their Premier League rivals.

Nunes’s composed finish in the 94th minute sparked a passionate celebration from Guardiola, who acknowledged the significance of the win in the tight race for Champions League qualification. City now have their fate in their own hands with four league games remaining.

“We’re not used to it. That belongs to Liverpool especially, how many times did they score late winners under Jurgen (Klopp) and Arsenal under Mikel (Arteta) as well? I’m not used to it, so I’m really, really happy,” Guardiola commented.

The City boss also praised his players’ resilience and performance against a strong Aston Villa side, despite a controversial penalty awarded against them.

“We’re not used to it. That belongs to Liverpool especially… I’m not used to it, so I’m really, really happy.” – Pep Guardiola, Manchester City Manager.

Bernardo Silva had earlier opened the scoring for City before Marcus Rashford’s penalty leveled the score for the visitors.

Despite the elation of the late win, Guardiola reflected on what he considers a challenging season for the reigning champions. “The season has been bad. The reality is what makes you feel good is the Premier League,” he stated.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, while disappointed with the late defeat, urged his seventh-placed team to quickly refocus as they prepare for their FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley.

“We can’t waste time, we lost in the last minute of this match, but we competed well. We were close to drawing,” Emery said. “We have to keep going.