Matheus Nunes struck deep into stoppage time to give Manchester City a priceless victory over fellow top-five contenders Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium in the battle for a Champions League place.
What could be a preview of next month’s FA Cup final looked set to end level as City struggled to find a way through the Villa defence after Marcus Rashford cancelled out Bernardo Silva’s early opener from the penalty spot.
But, with their final attack, substitute Jeremy Doku skipped past Axel Disasi down the left, then delivered a brilliant low cross with the outside of his right boot which rolled perfectly through the six-yard box for Nunes, who drilled his first Premier League goal of the season into the bottom corner.
It was a familiar feeling for Villa, who have now lost an incredible 15 successive league games at Manchester City.
The importance of the goal was shown in the celebrations of manager Pep Guardiola at full-time, who hugged Nunes in delight, then made his way round the rest of his squad before saluting the home fans.
City are now third, four points clear of Villa and Chelsea, who have a game in hand and remain just outside the top five.
And crucially, while City’s run-in includes matches against Wolves and relegated Southampton, Chelsea must play Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.
