The resigning of Pep Guardiola signals the complete collapse of all-conquering Man City

An obsessed Spanish coach had taken his chosen club to rare heights. Then came a sobering 11-game spell riddled with setbacks that saw his side fall off the table and cast doubt on their ambitions. But this victory was emphatic and impressive, offering relief and respite. A lull could be over.

But not for Pep Guardiola. Because Manchester City came to town for Unai Emery and Aston Villa. They were duly and deservedly beaten. As second best in the Second City, they suffered their ninth defeat in twelve games. Villa had lost six of 11 games since their rise to the top of the Champions League. Like City, they conceded a quick brace last week to conjure up defeat when they could have won last week. But in a battle of the besieged, City lost. Now they always do it. It’s their strange new normal. Things aren’t getting any better for Guardiola. It’s only getting worse. It wouldn’t be a weekend without someone yelling “kicked out in the morning” at him and hearing a familiar song.

It has become the soundtrack of a slide. “We have no defense, the results are not good,” admitted Guardiola. He has achieved a single win in 12 attempts. City struggled to perform for 90 minutes. “I wasn’t happy with the second half,” he said. The fragility of City’s spirit became a problem then. “Confidence went up for us and confidence went down for them,” Emery noted.

He achieved only his second victory over Guardiola in 16 attempts. It was thoroughly deserved and City were flattered by the final result. Villa started at a blistering pace, taking advantage of City’s soft surface and using their greater physicality to good effect. Jhon Duran started, starred and scored. Morgan Rogers was great. Youri Tielemans was probably even better. To City’s detriment, everyone was allowed to shine.

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Guardiola spent the first half making theatrical gestures, the second with his hands in his pockets, a man resigned to his fate. He witnessed the factors that contributed to City’s downfall. Villa’s first goal, like many others, was due to City not having a defensive midfielder. There was no one to stop Tielemans from playing penetration passes. Meanwhile, Rogers, once owned by City, never picked and sold from them, made one and scored one. City have made millions by cashing in on players. Now it has its price. Rogers can run. City can’t.

This feels like the complete collapse of an all-conquering team. “We concede the goals we haven’t conceded in the past, we (don’t) score the goals we have scored in the past,” Guardiola added. There were problems in both boxes, problems at the beginning. City had a surprisingly chaotic start; Josko Gvardiol gave Duran a golden chance within 15 seconds but was caught dawdling in possession by John McGinn. Stefan Ortega made two great saves in 70 seconds, denying the Colombian and brilliantly blocking a header from Pau Torres almost behind the goal line. Perhaps Guardiola had reason to be happy that Ederson was injured as his deputy performed brilliantly. But Ortega only delayed the inevitable and, with saves from Rogers and Ollie Watkins, only lessened the damage done.

Defensively, City were a mess. “We only have one suitable central defender, that’s difficult,” said Guardiola. He had two at the start, but John Stones’ comeback lasted just 45 minutes. Bad luck, he withdrew. “I am not at the right moment to make any creative or tactical changes,” Guardiola said as the injured centre-back left. Stones and Manuel Akanji were parachuted in but offered no protection. There was space in front of them, space behind them, space enjoyed by Villa’s quicker, hungrier strikers.

As Stones went off, the dropped Kyle Walker was called out. Kevin De Bruyne, who was also on the bench in Guardiola’s latest failed attempt to get the team back on track, was left unused as the coach appeared to accept defeat. Perhaps that was a mistake as Phil Foden struck in the 93rd minute and his late first league goal of the season was a reward for his refusal to give up. “Many thanks to some of the players for the pride they showed on the pitch,” Guardiola said. This seemed to indicate that others were less committed. He added: “I’ve never pointed at players in nine years because it would be easy for me to do that.”

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However, some had little to enjoy in their afternoon. Jack Grealish made his first start since leaving Villa Park. He was targeted by his teammates for diagonal balls, booed by the home team and booked for a foul on McGinn, a successor as Villa captain. Grealish was accused of creating for Erling Haaland but the striker had no use. “I didn’t take advantage of my chances,” said the Norwegian nobly. He only had a few in Villa Park. He blamed himself when he could have blamed others.

And the start was too easy. City were too vulnerable on the break, their high defensive line giving runners space to break through. Tielemans sent Rogers clear and the England international selflessly passed to Duran to bring him on. Duran may be Villa’s super reserve player, but his season has produced six starts. He scored in each case. It might be more accurate to simply describe him as a super striker.

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Rogers, a great No. 10, sank a shot from McGinn’s pass. A few seconds earlier, Mateo Kovacic had failed to foul him. City couldn’t stop Villa fair or square. Rogers was widely popular. “He’s a nice guy and he exploded,” Guardiola said. The sale of Rogers backfired, although it seemed logical when he was behind the City greats in the queue for the spots. “Do you know what happened?” said Guardiola. “Some players who won the treble and the quadruple, the players we had, allowed us to have more success in the history of our club. That’s the only reason for it.”

And Rogers isn’t the only reason for City’s crisis. It is history, but of a different kind, the worst phase of Guardiola’s career that is still ongoing. So it’s an Emery Christmas for Villa, but an absolutely miserable one for City.