Aston Villa lost 4-1 to Manchester City at the Etihad on Wednesday night, a match that left Ally McCoist extremely unhappy with the actions of two Villa players.
It was always going to be a difficult night for Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, a venue that Manchester City haven’t lost at since December 2022.
A difficult night was exactly what Unai Emery’s side experienced, with the treble winners flexing their authority, particularly in the second half as hosts blew the heavily changed Villa XI to pieces.
The manager made six changes to the squad that faced Wolves on Saturday however, the fixture wasn’t entirely about City for 90 minutes.
It was expected that heads would drop when the hosts broke the deadlock after just 11 minutes although, that was far from the case as Jhon Duran combined expertly with Morgan Rogers to level the scoring.
For all of Villa’s hard work in the first half, it was just before the interval that things began to unravel, with Ally McCoist left perplexed by the actions of two of Emery’s players for City’s second goal.
Ally McCoist couldn’t believe what ‘shocking’ Aston Villa pair did v Man City
Commentating on TNT Sports alongside Darren Fletcher, McCoist shared his dissatisfaction as Villa conceded a direct free-kick scored by Phil Foden.
While it was a well-hit effort by the hat-trick hero, the talkSPORT pundit expressed his anger at Nicolo Zaniolo and Ezri Konsa’s actions in the Villa wall.
“Shocking, you can’t be having that. That’s embarrassing for a defensive wall, it really is, to turn your back like that.”
“Really really poor. There’s no excuse for it, it costs you a goal.”
Foden’s strike slipped through the wall as Zaniolo and Konsa were caught with their backs turned to the ball, allowing it to creep through the duo and into Robin Olsen’s net.
Phil Foden’s free kick started Aston Villa’s downfall at the Etihad
Prior to the England international’s goal just before halftime, Villa had a chance to cause an upset at the home of the champions.
It was a well-contested fixture when the score was level, as Emery’s heavily changed side looked charged with inspiration and determination to squeeze what they could from the game.
Duran’s goal epitomised the confidence that the Villa forwards had to hurt City on the break, making it clear that their efforts would stand for something at arguably the most difficult ground to play at in the league.
It’s a great shame that Villa conceded before the interval as they did, with the lack of concentration from Konsa and Zaniolo contributing to the game becoming one-sided as the visitors went in behind at the break.
There will be a chance for Emery’s side to redeem themselves as the fixtures come thick and fast, with Brentford set to pay a visit to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
