The UEFA Champions League race was seconds from becoming ever murkier than it was when the day began as Manchester City and Aston Villa were headed for a 1-1 draw at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, until Matheus Nunes bagged his first Premier League goal for the club in stoppage time.
WATCH — Manchester City v Aston Villa full match replay
Now with four games left to play (and five for the others), four points separate 3rd-place Man City (61 points) from 7th-place Aston Villa (57), with Nottingham Forest (60) in 4th, Newcastle (59) in 5th and Chelsea (57) in 6th. All but two of them will qualify, unless Arsenal (2nd - 66 points) win the Champions League this season, in which case the 6th-place finisher would also gain entry.
The all-important six-pointer was moved forward to Tuesday as both City and Villa are set to play in the FA Cup semifinals this weekend — Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Man City vs Forest on Sunday — perhaps providing a preview of the final at Wembley Stadium on May 17.
MORE - Pep Guardiola reaction after Man City’s stoppage-time win over Aston Villa
There were fireworks very early and very late on Tuesday as Bernardo Silva opened the scoring with a powerful strike (and a bit of a gaffe by Emiliano Martinez in goal) in the 7th minute, before Marcus Rashford converted from the penalty spot in the 18th. It was nearly Rashford’s second goal of the game after he struck the post inside the opening 20 seconds.
Both sides struggled to create much of real substance for the majority of the game, but Jeremy Doku’s cross snuck through Villa’s penalty area and found Nunes unmarked at the back post in the 94th minute. The Portuguese midfielder-turned-right back lifted it over Lucas Digne’s outstretched leg and celebrated wildly, calling it “perfect timing” for his first PL goal for City after the game.
Rashford revitalized after escaping Man United
Rashford scored just 11 goals in his final 48 PL appearances for Manchester United, spread across a season and a half, before he moved to Aston Villa this January. From his best statistical season in 2022-23 (30 goals in 56 appearances - all competitions), to his worst without long-term injury the following season (8 goals in 43 appearances), Rashford looked a shell of his former self at the tender age of 26; things didn’t improve under Erik ten Hag to start the current campaign and got drastically worse once Ruben Amorim arrived in November. He played just 307 of 1,620 possible minutes between Amorim’s debut and his own departure (he scored 3 goals in his only 2 PL starts under Amorim, it should be noted), and then he didn’t play a single minute for nearly two months. There aren’t many players in the world who couldn’t use an extended layoff these days, let alone one who has played upward of 50 club games a season since he was 18 years old, and one who always relied on explosive athleticism to reach the very top of the sport, so two and a half months into his time at Villa, Rashford looks refreshed physically (just watch his runs in the 1st minute and the build-up to Aston Villa winning a penalty against City) and is seemingly Unai Emery’s first-choice option at striker in any big game despite Ollie Watkins having 15 PL goals (and 7 assists) this season.
Emery and Amorim’s tactical systems are night-and-day different on paper but as the Red Devils only ever pose a threat on the counter-attack with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee up front, it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t be better with Rashford leading the line instead (at least this version of him). Surely Aston Villa will trigger the option to make the transfer permanent this summer, but then the question becomes: Will Rashford agree to a reduced contract when his current deal at Old Trafford is set to pay him $430,000 a week for three more years?
Player ratings - Manchester City vs Aston Villa
What’s next?
- Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa — Saturday, 12:15 pm ET (FA Cup semifinal)
- Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City — Sunday, 11:30 am ET (FA Cup semifinal)
- Manchester City vs Wolves — Friday, May 2, 3 pm ET (next PL fixture)
- Aston Villa vs Fulham — Saturday, May 3, 7:30 am ET (next PL fixture)
Manchester City vs Aston Villa live updates - by Andy Edwards
Manchester City vs Aston Villa final score: 2-1
Goalscorers: Bernardo Silva (7'), Marcus Rashford (18' - PK), Matheus Nunes (90'+4)
GOAL! Man City 2-1 Aston Villa: Nunes slots home Doku’s cross in stoppage time (90'+4)
GOAL! Man City 1-1 Aston Villa: Rashford keeps his nerve and converts from the spot (18')
PENALTY! Dias cuts down Ramsey with an unnecessary challenge (16')
Absolutely no need for Ruben Dias to make a challenge there as Matheus Nunes was in position to deny Jacob Ramsey a look at goal. Dias isn’t even making a play for the ball, he just… runs into Ramsey’s legs as he cuts across behind him.
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Aston Villa: Emi Martinez makes a mess of Bernardo’s blast (7')
POST! Marcus Rashford smashes the post 20 seconds in (1')
Marcus Rashford hits the post in the opening seconds as Aston Villa come INCHES from a rapid goal. 😳
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 22, 2025
📺 USA Network | #MCIAVL pic.twitter.com/s7E8dTqvhO
Manchester City starting lineup
Ortega - Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly - Kovacic, Gundogan, De Bruyne - McAtee, Silva, Marmoush
Aston Villa starting lineup
Martinez - Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne - Onana, Kamara, Tielemans - Rogers, Ramsey, Rashford
How to watch Manchester City vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday (April 22)
Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Both teams have hit form at the right time of the season, with City winning three of their last four — including a late win at Everton on Saturday — and are unbeaten in five to put themselves in a decent spot to finish in the top five and keep their record going of always reaching the Champions League under Pep Guardiola. Amid injuries galore, a squad rebuild and the constant uncertainty surrounding the alleged charges against them, Manchester City have had a tough 2024-25. But they have a chance to finish it on a high by finishing in the top five and also winning the FA Cup, as this game could very well be a preview of the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 17.
Aston Villa are the form team in the Premier League, winning five in a row (and 10 of their last 11 in all competitions) as Unai Emery’s side battered another red-hot team Newcastle 4-1 at home on Saturday. With a wealth of talented attacking and midfield options to choose from, Emery has a fully-fit squad and is rotating expertly. Their run to the Champions League quarterfinals, losing narrowly to PSG 5-4 on aggregate, proved they belong with the big boys and Villa are desperate to get back into that competition next season.
Manchester City team news, focus
Ederson has been struggling with injury so Stefan Ortega is likely to keep his place in goal. Manuel Akanji could come in at center back with Josko Gvardiol going to left back, but youngster Nico O’Reilly has been playing really well there out of position. The likes of Kovacic, Foden, Doku and Grealish are all pushing for starts in midfield, but the experience of De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gunodgan has been preferred recently alongside Nico Gonzalez.
OUT: Rodri (knee), John Stones (thigh), Nathan Ake (foot), Erling Haaland (ankle) | QUESTIONABLE: Ederson (muscular)
Aston Villa team news, focus
Emery will likely rotate his midfield and attack and don’t be surprised if Rashford starts in place of Watkins, plus Ramsey is likely to start ahead of Asensio. Onana could start in central midfield too as Villa’s subs all had a huge impact in their big win against Newcastle at the weekend. Lucas Digne is likely to start at left back and Pau Torres could come back in at center back too. Villa have two supremely talented players for each position available and Emery is using that squad strength superbly.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa prediction
This feels like it will be a fun one. Both teams are better when they go for it and attack and City have found a better defensive solidity in recent weeks. But Villa are experts at picking teams off and are in a great moment. Manchester City 2-2 Aston Villa.
