Manchester City lost 1-2 to Aston Villa at “Villa Park“, despite having 15 shots to the home side's 8. Away manager Enzo Maesca described the defeat as undeserved, but admitted his team were not decisive enough in the penalty area.
Nicholas Jackson scored both goals for Aston Villa. In the first goal, Mark Gehi failed to control the ball, which fell to John McGinn, who passed for the goal. Jackson scored once more, while the home side had only two shots on target.
Gehi received a yellow card in the 32nd minute and was substituted at half-time. Maesca said he was not worried about the performance of the defender, who has played every minute of the season for his club and England.
The coach explained the substitution with the booking and the way Manchester City are trying to play.
“In the style we want to impose, based on press and energy, a player with a yellow card can sometimes create a risk“, he said.Maesca: We should have taken more
Manchester City created more chances but failed to convert them. Aston Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki made several important saves in the second half and helped the hosts maintain their lead.
„I think we deserved more from this game because of the number of chances we created and the chances we allowed the opponent,“ said Maesca.According to him, Manchester City lost mainly because of the lack of decisive action in the Aston Villa penalty area. The defeat was the first time since the start of the season that the team dropped points in the Premier League.
Why Bouadi was left out
Maesca also explained the absence of Moroccan midfielder Ayoub Bouadi. According to him, the choice was linked to the need for more technical players in midfield, which is why Ryan Sherkey and Phil Foden started.
„Today we needed midfielders with technical skills and that's why Sherkey and Foden played“, said the Italian coach.Maesca stressed that Bouadi remains part of his plans and will get opportunities in the next matches. He praised the performances of Enzo Fernandez and Elliot Anderson and cited the busy schedule as the reason for the expected rotations in the squad.
Sources: goal.com