Leon Bailey’s goal in the Aston Villa vs. Manchester City match dealt a blow to City’s chances of winning the title, resulting in a six-point deficit behind Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola believes that playing mind games is a crucial element in outperforming one’s opponents. Unfortunately for the Manchester City manager, his hopes of winning the title were dealt another setback when Aston Villa secured a well-deserved 1-0 victory. Leon Bailey’s second-half goal sealed the win for Unai Emery’s Villa side.

Villa, who have now triumphed in 14 consecutive Premier League home games, dominated significant portions of the match, granting Emery his first managerial triumph over his fellow countryman, Guardiola. Pau Torres was denied an early goal by an impressive save from Ederson, while Emiliano Martinez’s double save kept Erling Haaland from scoring. Nevertheless, City only managed to hit the target with those shots, as they found themselves predominantly focusing on defensive tactics throughout the game. Bailey, Lucas Digne, and Ezri Konsa came close to breaching City’s defense, but were unable to succeed. The second half was a more closely contested affair, with John McGinn squandering a great chance to give Villa the lead. However, it was Bailey who ultimately managed to break the stalemate with a deflected shot from beyond the penalty area.

City’s disappointment persisted as Douglas Luiz’s skillfully curved attempt struck the post in the closing stages of the match. City’s attempts were in vain as they were unable to break through Villa’s strong defense. This outcome signifies that City have not won in their last four Premier League matches, only earning three points out of a potential 12.

In other news from the Premier League, Liverpool maintained their pace with Arsenal, the current league leaders, by securing a 2-0 triumph over Sheffield United. Manchester United also eased some burden off their manager Erik ten Hag, who has faced criticism, with a 2-1 victory against Chelsea. Scott McTominay netted both goals for United, allowing them to recover from their previous loss to Newcastle. In the meantime, Nottingham Forest’s concerns about being relegated worsened when they experienced a humiliating 5-0 loss against struggling team Fulham. Fulham’s Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez each scored two goals, while Forest have only managed to win one out of their past 11 matches. At the moment, Forest occupies the 16th position in the league, trailing behind Bournemouth. Bournemouth extended their unbeaten streak to four games with a 2-0 triumph over Crystal Palace. Additionally, Brighton obtained a much-needed victory by defeating Brentford 2-1, securing their second win in nine Premier League games.