Aston Villa failed to increase the gap from Tottenham Hotspur last night, as they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Unfortunately, Unai Emery’s side weren’t able to mirror the incredible game plan that helped them win 1-0 earlier on in the season, but the absence of some key players certainly played a role.
Rodri opened the scoring just after the tenth minute, and it looked like Villa had little belief that they could win the game until Jhon Duran equalised in the 20th minute.
However, from that point on, it was the Phil Foden show, and he took home the match ball. In truth, it was a game to forget for the entire Villa squad, but one player in particular struggled to put his stamp on the game, even having fewer touches than Robin Olsen.
Robin Olsen’s performance vs Man City
With first-choice keeper Emi Martinez missing out entirely on Wednesday due to illness, the Swedish shot-stopper started just his second Premier League game of the campaign.
Going into the tie, the 34-year-old will have anticipated that he would be in for an extremely busy evening, but in all honesty, he impressed and was one of the best on the field.
Olsen’s passing wasn’t exactly direct and accurate, but that’s expected when heavily pressed. However, he wasn’t afraid to receive the ball, taking 54 touches throughout.
Furthermore, had it not been for some great shot-stopping ability, City could have hit the back of the net at least a couple more times, with the number 25 making seven saves, with six of those being inside the box.
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