Nunes’ Late Strike Secures Crucial Victory for Manchester City Against Aston Villa

In a dramatic finish, Matheus Nunes scored a stunning strike in the 94th minute, securing a crucial 2-1 victory for Manchester City over Aston Villa in their quest for UEFA Champions League qualification. This win extended Manchester City’s impressive unbeaten streak at home against Villa to 15 matches in the Premier League.

Aston Villa entered the match on a high after winning their last five Premier League matches and almost made a sensational start at the Etihad, with Marcus Rashford striking the post just 18 seconds into the game.

After weathering that initial scare, City quickly found their rhythm and took the lead in the seventh minute when Bernardo Silva’s powerful finish beat Emiliano Martínez, following an impressive setup play by Omar Marmoush.

Refusing to be disheartened by this setback, Villa was soon awarded a penalty when VAR intervened, concluding that Rúben Dias had fouled Jacob Ramsey in the box.

After missing two penalties in their previous away fixture, the responsibility fell to Rashford. The forward, born in Manchester, made no mistake, sending Stefan Ortega the wrong way to level the score for Unai Emery’s side.

As the match approached halftime, both teams created further chances, with Kevin De Bruyne’s header saved by Martínez, while Ortega raced off his line to deny Rashford at the other end.

Determined to maintain their unbeaten streak, which stood at six matches across all competitions (four wins and two draws), City dominated possession in the second half.

Clear-cut chances were scarce, with James McAtee attempting a cheeky lob that narrowly missed the far post. Despite having less possession, Villa remained dangerous on the counter-attack, as Rashford rounded Ortega only to hit the side-netting from a tight angle.

As the match entered the final 20 minutes, the tension mounted with both teams striving for a decisive goal. City appeared to be running out of ideas when Marmoush had a well-taken shot ruled offside, but the decisive moment came in the fourth minute of injury time. Jérémy Doku’s low cross was expertly converted by Nunes at the back post.

This late goal not only clinched City their ninth home win out of 12 matches this season but also denied Villa the opportunity to achieve four consecutive away league games unbeaten for the first time since the 2008/09 season.