Against Aston Villa, Pep Guardiola faced the most shots in the first half of a game across the whole of the Spaniard’s managerial career.
It was a terrific night for Aston Villa as they were able to secure yet another home win against Manchester City.
It was the first time in the career of Unai Emery that he had got one over his compatriot, Pep Guardiola and he did so in style.
Despite having less possession, the home side had more shots and always posed a better chance of scoring than their opponents.
Villa came into the game in fourth place and the win over the current champions saw them leapfrogged. This was thanks to a goal from Leon Bailey which secured all three points. At the time of writing, Villa now sit in third and are just four points off Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
It was a record-breaking 14th consecutive win at Villa Park for the Villans as they haven’t tasted defeat since February. They also broke another record on the night, something which hasn’t been done for over 15 years.
What Pep Guardiola record did Aston Villa break?
Ever since his Barcelona managerial debut in 2008, Pep Guardiola has been the manager of some truly elite clubs. With Bayern Munich and now City, the Spaniard’s record is quite outstanding.
He has won 36 trophies as a manager across three top, top teams, he has seen it all in his time as his manager. With that being said, he saw something for the first time at Villa Park in the 1-0 defeat for his side.
OptaJoe has released some statistics on X which have gone to show just how good Aston Villa’s performance was.
On that, they said: “Aston Villa have had 13 shots against Manchester City at the break – the most ever faced by a Pep Guardiola team in the first half of a match in Europe’s big five leagues.”
The game against the Villans was Guardiola’s 535th game as a manager which just makes this an even bigger achievement.
Given the quality of City and their devastating form in seasons gone by the win in itself is a massive moment. Under Emery, Villa are a different beast and are confident in their abilities to beat these typically big sides.
If the Villans can play how they did last night throughout the campaign they will have no worries. With Arsenal travelling to Villa Park on Saturday night, there is a chance for Villa to move even closer to top spot.
