Pep Guardiola was far from satisfied with his side's season as Manchester City moved into third place in the Premier League on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa 2-1 at the Etihad.
While City may yet drop down the table when the chasing pack complete their games in hand, for now, they are ahead of both Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, with Villa four points behind them in seventh.
In a game full of action, Marcus Rashford hit the post within the first 30 seconds. City opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Bernardo Silva.
Rashford then restored parity from the penalty spot before a 94th-minute strike from Matheus Nunes secured full points for City.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said: “I’m really happy. We’re in the last four in the last five games and a Champions League contender for qualification.
“Aston Villa is a team to the last man, one of the top teams in Europe.
“We played really good. We were aggressive in our duels, the back four was unbelievable.
“Football is emotion. For the fans, players, we have a lot of pressure for the club to go to the Champions League.
“The players behave unbelievably – we are so pleased.
“The action from Jeremy Doku, he can create something with his pace.
“He had the right players in the box. Football, if you’re in this business to live with the disappointment.
“The performance was really good, and we were able to do it.
“The season has been bad. The reality is that what makes you feel good is the Premier League.
“But it happens, sometimes you have bad seasons.
“The level of the teams in the Premier League is outstanding,” he said.
City return to action again on Sunday when they face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final.
What it means to Pep [ @obviouslyruben5 ] #Pep pic.twitter.com/o2fQE09D2Y
— The Pep (@GuardiolaTweets) April 22, 2025
