Goals from Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko were not enough as last season's runners-up were handed a reality check following last weekend's dominant victory in the Manchester derby.
Leandro Bacuna and Andreas Weimann left Manchester City stunned as Aston Villa twice came from behind to record a remarkable 3-2 victory.
Fresh from netting nine goals in a week
against Manchester United and Wigan Athletic, City were in dominant
mood in the first half on Saturday but had to wait for Yaya Toure's
sixth strike in eight games to put them ahead in its final minute.
Having
failed to muster a shot on target before the break, Karim El Ahmadi
produced a clinical finish to haul Villa level amid strong suspicions
of offside in the 51st minute.
Edin Dzeko glanced in from Samir Nasri's
corner to restore City's advantage five minutes later but Bacuna lashed
home a stunning free-kick for his first Villa goal after Matija
Nastasic fouled Weimann.
And Nastasic and Vincent Kompany were
caught napping as Weimann stole in to beat the on-rushing Joe Hart with
a 75th-minute winner.
In the injury absence of forward duo
Christian Benteke (hip) and Gabriel Agbonlahor (ankle), Villa manager
Paul Lambert handed a first start to last weekend’s match-winner at
Norwich City, Libor Kozak, and reverted to a 5-3-2 formation.
Sergio
Aguero picked up a knock after firing a derby day brace last weekend,
meaning Dzeko partnered Alvaro Negredo in attack. Elsewhere, Jesus
Navas dropped to the bench to accommodate Villa old boy James Milner in
the City midfield.
And Milner had the game's first opening in
the third minute, lashing wide left-footed after Dzeko dummied a low
cross from Aleksandar Kolarov.
Continuing the impressive form he showcased six days ago, Samir Nasri was at the hub of an impressive start by the visitors.
First,
a cute through-ball allowed Dzeko to slide in on the angle and draw a
save from Brad Guzan before the France international fired narrowly
wide from the edge of the box having led a swift counter-attack.
Dzeko
failed to get on top of a good headed chance from a 14th-minute corner
and City proceeded to dominate the opening half hour without again
testing Guzan.
City's pressure continued largely unchecked but
they were undermined failing to consistently find a quality final ball
until the half’s outstanding player intervened at its conclusion.
After watching Ciaran Clark clear off the line and Nathan Baker deflect his fierce drive wide, Toure crowned a typically dominant display from midfield by steering Nasri’s corner through Guzan’s legs.
Negredo
and Kolarov threatened as City began the second period at a furious
place but Manuel Pellegrini's team would soon rue their profligacy.
El Ahmadi collected Bacuna's wonderfully weighted pass to fire home low across Hart as the linesman's flag stayed down.
But as they did from their ninth corner, City netted from their 10th to ensure parity lasted only six minutes.
Dzeko
made the most of a static Villa defence to glance Nasri's in-swinging
delivery past Guzan and the USA international got down well moments
later to keep out a thunderous Negredo volley.
Ring-wing crosses
from Zabaleta and Navas – introduced in place of Nasri – invited
further punishment that did not arrive from Dzeko but just as Villa
looked to be entering survival mode they stunned City again.
Villa Park was in raptures following Bacuna's heroics and the noise levels were further ramped up as Weimann lifted Villa up to ninth in the table - only a point behind City in fifth.
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