Villa profit with Cash and leave Haaland feeling short-changed

For Manchester City and Erling Haaland, another fruitless visit to Villa Park. It was not quite last season, when defeat here approaching Christmas was a ninth in a dozen matches, but it was equally painful.

- Ben Fisher

With a minute of regular time to play, Haaland clattered into a post after meeting an inch-perfect cross by Omar Marmoush, having squeezed the ball over the Aston Villa goalline. But the assistant referee raised his flag and, as Haaland lay wincing, a check by the video assistant referee confirmed the goal would not stand. City left this stadium empty-handed for a third successive season.

There is sufficiently more positivity surrounding Pep Guardiola's side at present but this proved another frustrating trip, Matty Cash's superbly taken first-half strike ultimately the difference. For Villa, this was a welcome return to winning ways after a shock Europa League defeat at the mid-table Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday. After starting the season with a five-match winless run, Unai Emery has now presided over four successive wins in the Premier League and, with his team in eighth, things are looking up before travelling to Liverpool on Saturday.

On his previous visit here Haaland registered 18 touches, just one in the opposition box, and afterwards criticised his own all-round performance. This time he managed 16, recording three in the Villa penalty area, and City's clearest efforts on goal were tame efforts courtesy of Haaland, who twice saw Emiliano Martínez comfortably gather.