Nunes' late winner helps Man City beat Villa 2-1

LONDON: Matheus Nunes scored in the 94th minute to give Manchester City a priceless victory over fellow top-five contenders Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium and move third in the battle for a Champions League place.

What could be a preview of next month's FA Cup final looked set to end level as City struggled to find a way through the Villa defence after Marcus Rashford cancelled out Bernardo Silva's early opener from the penalty spot.

But, in the fourth minute of five added on, substitute Jeremy Doku skipped past Axel Disasi down the left, then delivered a brilliant low cross with the outside of his right boot which rolled perfectly through the six-yard box for Nunes, who drilled his first Premier League goal of the season into the bottom corner.

It was a familiar feeling for Villa, who have now lost an incredible 15 successive league games at Manchester City.

The importance of the goal was shown in the celebrations of manager Pep Guardiola at full-time, who hugged Nunes in delight, then made his way round the rest of his squad before saluting the home fans.

City are now third in the table, four points clear of Villa and Chelsea, who have a game in hand and remain just outside the top five.

And crucially, while City's run-in includes matches against Wolves and relegated Southampton, Chelsea must play Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.

Guardiola glee at late winner

Guardiola's glee at the final whistle was in stark contrast to the fury he was still feeling at the penalty Villa had been awarded when he emerged for the second half.

A replay of Ruben Dias' challenge on Jacob Ramsey was being shown at just the wrong time from Guardiola's perspective as he shook his head angrily, still believing there had been no foul.

Evidently, the City boss was still simmering as the second half ticked on; in his mind, the importance of victory was absolutely huge.