Manchester City were beaten at Villa Park last season but that was a surprise defeat. However, the Citizens’ recent 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa was almost predictable. Unai Emery’s side were simply stronger, quicker and better organised.
Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers played with impressive quality for Villa. And the qualities that the pair showed on the pitch were also what Man City were lacking. The reigning Premier League champions not only looked weak but also extremely slow.
Guardiola's side were particularly vulnerable to counter-attacks. It was clear that it was not just Rodri's absence that caused City to struggle all over the pitch.
And in particular, the Etihad team no longer creates enough chances. They have only scored 10 goals in 9 recent Premier League matches in the period up to now, which is 2 months. And it is very unbelievable that only Leicester, Everton and Southampton have scored fewer goals than them in that period.
All this from a team that boasts Erling Haaland up front. The Norwegian should take responsibility for his own goalscoring slump.
"I'm looking at myself first, I didn't score the goals I had. I have to do better because that's not good enough," admitted the Norwegian striker - who has scored just two goals in his last eight Premier League games.
And it’s not just that Haaland’s finishing is inconsistent. His 13 goals this season have come from an expected goals total of 13.21. That suggests his teammates aren’t creating enough chances for Haaland either.
Man City's attacking play now relies heavily on passing the ball to Haaland, even if he rarely touches the ball. The Citizens are lacking wingers with a good scoring rate like Raheem Sterling or Ryad Mahrez before.
Haaland may have only scored twice in his last eight Premier League games, but no team-mate has scored more in that time. Gvardiol is the only other player to have scored more. The defender's contributions are not just an addition, they are becoming a necessity for City.
The 1.03 xG total against Villa suggests this is not an anomaly due to Man City's poor finishing. They have scored the right number of goals based on their creativity, as they did in the 2-1 defeat to Man United (0.95 xG).
It was the first time this season that City have created so few chances in two consecutive games, and Guardiola is worried they may be getting worse. And how can Guardiola hope to get the Citizens to be more creative when they are still conceding so many goals?
