Coach Pep Guardiola has seen Manchester City score to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. However, few goals have made him celebrate like when Matheus Nunes scored in extra time against Aston Villa.
Nunes scored in the 94th minute to bring an important 2-1 victory to The Citizens. A draw will make Man City's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season fragile. But after three key points against Villa, that goal is within reach for them.
When Man City scored at the Etihad, Guardiola often turned to signal his family in the stands behind the bench. This time, he held his hands tightly, shouted loudly and ran around the border.
Meanwhile, coach Unai Emery looked up to the sky and put his face in his hand. The race for a ticket to the Champions League is so intense that a victory will take Villa to fourth place in the rankings. Instead, they have dropped to 7th place after losing to Man City.
"I'm really happy. Man City are in the top 4 with only 4 matches left in the season and are still competing for a place in the Champions League. If they win all 4 remaining matches, today's victory will be extremely important.
It is not necessary to be a scientist to see that Aston Villa is one of the best teams, as they showed against Newcastle and PSG. However, we also showed solidarity," said Guardiola after the win over Villa.
This has been a difficult season for Man City. This may partly explain Guardiola's passionate celebrations. Nunes has been forced to play as a right-back due to a long list of injuries. At left-back, there is Nico O'Reilly (20 years old) - who is a midfielder.
Stars like Erling Haaland and Rodri sat in the stands. Phil Foden - the best player in the Premier League last season - has been left on the bench due to too much decline in performance.
"If you told me at the start of the season that at the end of the season, Man City will fight for the FA Cup final or qualify for the Champions League with Nico and Matheus at full-back, what do I answer you are saying?" - Guardiola said.
Of course, Guardiola did not expect any sympathy. But after solving one problem after another, he will still consider qualifying for the Champions League as a big win. Maybe not as big as raising the Premier League or Champions League title, but it's important nonetheless.
Man City is in the current situation due to a series of disastrous results in November and December last year. The 4-time Premier League champions' heat has disappeared. However, they have regained their fighting strength at the decisive moment.
Long enough for Chelsea in 6th place with a gap of 4 points, Man City now have to continue to get the necessary points in the last 4 matches against Wolves, Southampton, Bournemouth and Fulham.
