Erling Haaland reaction speaks volumes as Man City grab priceless win over Aston Villa

Pep Guardiola's vintage stars are doing it their way. Manchester City took control in the Champions League race by scoring a last-minute winner at the Etihad to move up into third place in the Premier League with just four games to go.

The roar at the Etihad was hearty, the celebrations on the touchline and on the pitch wild, and the relief vast. City had done it the hard way, but they had done it and will now really fancy their chances of achieving their 'minimum' objective of staying at the top table of European football.

A draw would have been taken by Blues when the team news dropped and many did not feel great about a midfield packed again with exclusively 30-somethings matching one that had monstered them in the reverse fixture. Guardiola has stuck with his golden oldies, or 'legendary players' as he calls them and they are starting to show the results to back it up.

It again wasn't a complete performance, and the warning signs were there inside the opening 20 seconds when Marcus Rashford turned Ruben Dias inside out before seeing his shot come back off the post and straight into the arms of Stefan Ortega, who was lying sprawled on the floor after being beaten by the original effort.

To their credit, the home side put together a move of their own and took the lead in the seventh minute. A crossfield ball from Ruben Dias allowed Omar Marmoush to run inside the box and his cross deflected into the path of Bernardo Silva, who lashed in his first goal since Boxing Day with the help of Emi Martinez fumbling a regulation save into his own goal.

It felt like the tale of City since the international break whether it be Bournemouth, Everton or Palace, dicing with a real problem before recovering to take control. Villa