- Man City lose Pep Guardiola’s final game in charge
- Antoine Semenyo scores before Ollie Watkins brace
- Bernardo Silva and John Stones make emotional farewells
Manchester City were unable to give Pep Guardiola the perfect farewell at the Etihad Stadium, suffering a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa in their final Premier League game of the season.
Here are five observations we have made from a match which brought Guardiola’s extraordinary decade in charge of Man City to a disappointing conclusion.
Man City’s dominance was not dangerous enough
There is going to be some frustration when City look back at the statistics from this game. Guardiola’s side finished with 16 shots, nine corners and 42 touches in the opposition box.
Villa, on the other hand, only managed 18 touches in City’s box. However, the visitors finished with more shots on target and edged the expected goals battle.
They recorded 1.58 xG compared to City’s 1.56. Despite reaching promising areas regularly, too many of their attacking efforts ended in blocked efforts, hopeful shots or final passes which failed to find the target.
Antoine Semenyo ended the season brilliantly
There were not many positives from Man City on an emotional afternoon, but Antoine Semenyo gave supporters another reminder of his quality.
The forward opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after a corner reached him at the far post, with Semenyo calmly sending his finish back across Marco Bizot and into the net.
It was another important contribution after his recent goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
The Ghana international has ended the season with 11 goals and three assists for City in 27 games, averaging 0.54 goal involvement per 90.
City lost control immediately after half-time
Man City went into the interval with a lead and appeared to have the game under control, but everything changed within two minutes of the restart.
Ollie Watkins equalised in the 47th minute after the ball dropped kindly to him inside the penalty area. The Englishman then went on to add his second in the 61st minute.
The worrying part was how Villa went from offering little threat in the first half to looking capable of scoring from wherever they attacked after the break.
Phil Foden was denied the perfect ending
Phil Foden did not produce the match-winning contribution City needed, but he came agonisingly close to rescuing a point late on.
The midfielder turned brilliantly inside the penalty area before firing a powerful left-footed effort into the roof of the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
It would have been a fitting final moment of the Guardiola era, particularly for a player whose development has been so closely linked with the Catalan manager.
The farewells mattered more than the result
Guardiola named nine changes from the draw against Bournemouth, with Bernardo Silva captaining the team on his 460th City appearance and John Stones making his 295th outing for the club.
Both players were withdrawn in the second half, receiving the appreciation of the Etihad crowd as their remarkable spells in Manchester came to an end.
The result was disappointing, particularly because City had the opportunity to send three major figures out with a victory.
However, one defeat does not change what Guardiola, Bernardo and Stones have achieved together over the years.
Likewise, the afternoon was ultimately about saying goodbye to three men who helped shape the greatest period in the club’s history.
