ThePremier Leaguesay ‘the goalscorer is under review’.My instinct is that it touched Silva’s studs, though it’s very hard to be sure. I suspect the goal will be given to De Bruyne to save face.
It’s so, so boring.
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I suspect that goal will be awarded to David Silva, even though a Silva goal would probably have been disallowed for offside. VAR: Clearing Things Up Since 2017.
Kevin De Bruyne speaks“David said he touched it (for the goal). I have no idea. We had some difficulties in the first half today – maybe lack of intensity, the rhythm was not there. The second half was a much better performance after Raz’s goal. In the end we deserved to win. We’re just doing our job – let’s keep it going. ”
Full time: Manchester City 3-0 Aston Villa
That was a funny old game, though nobody seems to be laughing. After a frustrating first half,Manchester Cityflexed their muscles in the second half and deserved their win against a game Aston Villa. VAR played its part again, but I’ve lost the will on that.
90 4 min: Now McGinn hits the post!Ederson charged from his lunch to make a good save from Davis before McGinn’s follow-up whistled through him and onto the inside of the post.
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90 2 minJesus floats a chiponto the crossbarafter a mix-up between Heaton and Mings. It bounced back straight into the hands of Heaton. “Luck of the devil” and all that.
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90 1 minThree minutes of added time.
90 minFoden, who had a shot beaten away by Heaton just before the red card, wins a corner after an elegant run down the inside-left channel.
88 minStones is flattened by a fierce cross from Davis, which hits him just below the neck. He looks pretty groggy.
Fernandinho sent off
87 minManchester City’s tactical fouls are starting to catch up with them. Fernandinho is sent off for a second yellow card, having been adjudged to have pulled back Davis. I’m not sure it was a foul, in truth, but City get away with so many sly fouls that they can’t really complain.
85 min“Surely Sterling was offside both for the De Bruyne cross and the flick from Silva? ”says Francis Lee. “He was right in front of Heaton and obviously interfering with play even if he didn’t touch the ball? Or have the rules changed since I left England 30 years ago? ”
I think Sterling was onside for the original cross and then offside if it got a touch off David Silva. Hopefully thePremier Leaguewill award the goal to Silva after the game, and the entire VAR technology will explode on the grounds that Sterling was offside and a Silva goal does not compute. Then we can return to football being a bit of fun rather than a particularly po-faced episode of Perry Mason.
Updated (at 9.) am EDT
(min) Anwar El-Ghazi replaces the limping Jack Grealish for Villa.
Updated (at 9.) am EDT
(minGundogan is booked for a tactical foul on Trezeguet. ************
(minGrealish, who is on a yellow card, overruns the ball and fouls Joao Cancelo. Some referees would have said ‘off you pop’ for that; Graham Scott is not one of them. He’s had a very good game.
(minIf Silva got a touch, Sterling was arguably interfering with play when the goal was scored. And I’m not entirely convinced that the ball didn’t brush Sterling’s shorts as well. Does it count as a touch if it hits only the fabric of your shots? I haven’t a clue any more. I do know that the last questionwas never asked of Gary Lineker.
76 minreliably brilliant Kevin De Bruyne – who has been given the second goal – is replaced by Phil Foden, and Sergio Aguero comes on for the inspirational Raheem Sterling.
75 minVilla shouldn’t be too disheartened by this, even if it ends 4- or 5-0. They have played very well for large parts of the game.
(min) “As a (former) librarian I fully support your coinage,” says David C Hunter. “Nothing we’d like better than 50, 000 attendees who are quiet, studious, and enjoying themselves, though we do prefer to ‘do it’ indoors. ”
73 minA change apiece. Angelino replaces Mendy for City, Keinan Davies replaces Wesley for Villa.
It came from a right-wing corner, taken by De Bruyne. Fernandinho touched the ball around the defense at the near post and leathered it across the face of goal. Bernardo Silva couldn’t guide it into an open net, such was the pace on the ball. But Villa could only partially clear it to Gundogan, who waited for the ball to bounce up and lashed a vertical scissor-kick that went through a posse of bodies and into the net. That was a fine bit of improvisation.
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GOAL GIVEN!I’ll be honest: I don’t know who scored or whether it was the correct decision to award a goal. I think the answers are ‘David Silva’ and ‘yes’. But apparentlythe goal has been given to De Bruyne.
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It came from a wicked inswinging cross from De Bruyne,which may have got a touch from Silva on its way into the net. I don’t think Sterling touched it.
VAR checkThere’s a check for offside against Sterling . If he touched the ball he’s offside, and it may have brushed his shorts as he tried to get out of the way. Who knows.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa (D Silva or De Bruyne 65)
That should be the match for City.
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(min) Villa are still having plenty of the game. Douglas Luiz’s snappy header, from Guilbert’s cross, is straight at Ederson.
61 min“Librarial is a real word if you say it is, Rob, “Says Alexander Sharkey. “Just depends whether the rest of us adopt your neologism. I think it’s a winner. Same import but easier to say than Emiratial. ”
(min) De Bruyne sweeps a left-footed shot well wide from the edge of the area.
(min) McGinn’s high free-kick from the left is fumbled by Ederson, but the ball lands safely for City. In Ederson’s defense, he was baulked by a couple of his own team-mates.
55 min: Mings makes a spectacular goalline clearance!Engels’ abysmal ball out of defense went straight to Sterling, who squared it to find Jesus in space in the area. His low shot went through Heaton and bounced up awkwardly on the goalline, where the backpedalling Mings improvised brilliantly to knee it over the bar.
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54 min“As a Liverpool fan I’d like the club sign one creative and established player and it seems that there is a nice pool of upcoming English midfielders,” says Michal. “If you were the Reds’ director of football, who would target out of Grealish, Sancho and Maddison? ”
For Liverpool, Maddison I reckon.
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53 minA fine run from Mendy, who nutmegs McGinn on the left of the area before hitting a shot that spins just wide off Engels.
50 minDe Bruyne’s wicked free-kick from the right flashes right across the face of goal.
49 min“You just said that 12 teams could conceivably go down, ”says Daniel Wighton. “Are you including Man Utd in that gaggle?”
Notyet.
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47 minJesus beat Mings in the air to create the goal, which is less than idea from Villa’s perspective. From City’s point of view, it’s yet another goal for the inevitable Raheem Sterling.
Updated (at 8. 38 am EDT
It was Villa’s kick off as well.The goal came from Ederson’s long ball, which was headed on by Jesus towards Sterling. The last man Engels was wrongfooted by the angle of the header, which allow Sterling to scurry into the area and slide the ball under Heaton.
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Aston Villa (Sterling 46)
We won’t be seeing Sergio Aguero yet. Raheem Sterling has scored after 20 seconds of the second half!
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46 minPeep Peep!Aston Villaget the second half under way. No substitutions, although it won’t be long before we see Sergio Aguero if it stays 0-0.
“Hi Rob,”says James Broughton. “On that Stones blocked shot, that then touched both hands, but was not given by VAR. The question I have is, how does that fit with the now consistent approach being taken of ‘all handballs are fouls’? Think back to the City v Spurs game earlier this season and Jesus ’goal was disallowed because VAR concluded the ball had trimmed a City player’s nails before reaching Jesus. It seemed we were getting to a point of any time the ball touched a hand it was a foul. It touched both of Stones ’hands. In short, please clarify. ”
I had a look at the new law at half-time and I was wrong – VAR man was correct not to give a penalty. Essentially (though there is a degree of ambiguity), it’s not a penalty if the ball deflects off another part of your body onto the arm.
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Half time: Manchester City 0-0 Aston Villa
Peep Peep! A frustrating half for City, who with the exception of Raheem Sterling have been nowhere near their best. Half their players are moaning at the referee, though I’m not sure why. It would be worse for City but for Ederson’s excellent save from John McGinn. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
45 minDouglas Luiz crosses from the left towards Trezeguet, who loses the sleeping Stones but makes no contact with an attempted stooping header.
43 minDavid Silva misses City’s best chance of the game. It was made by the superb Sterling, who ran infield, onto Gundogan’s return pass, and eased the ball back towards Silva. He dragged a low, first-time shot just wide of the far post.
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43 minSergio Aguero is having a great game.
42 minGrealish gets away with a foul on David Silva, having lost the ball in a dangerous area. Had the foul been given, that would almost certainly have been a second yellow card. Then again, the first one was harsh. See, itdoesall even itself out in the end, every now and then.
40 min“Villa fan here,” says David Bertram. “Any chance this side stays up? I feel there’s so much to like about them but the 38 – game season will be too short. ”
Too short ?! I think they’ll stay up reasonably comfortably. It’s not easy to call this year, as there are maybe 12 teams that could conceivably go down, but Villa have a lot going for them – a high -class coaching team, solid defense, arguably England’s best keeper, enough quality in midfield and a home support than will win a few extra points.
38 minSterling misses a decent chance, flicking a header wide from Gundogan’s stabbed, outside-of-the foot cross. The ball was slightly behind him, which made it a tougher chance than it first looked.
(minGrealish is booked for fouling Sterling, though it looked like Sterling just slipped.
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35 minVilla have three shots blocked in the same attack. The second of those, from Trezeguet, hit Stones ’arm as he fell after originally making a superb block.VAR says … no penalty.I thought that might be given.
(min) Ederson’s superb long pass puts Sterling through on goal, only for Heaton to charge from the area and calmly chest the ball away. Modern goalkeeping, right there
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