Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City received the outcome they deserved in their Premier League loss to Aston Villa.
A second-half goal by Leon Bailey led to a 1-0 defeat, extending the Citizen’s winless streak in the league to four matches.
Consequently, they’ve now dropped to fourth place in the table, trailing leaders Arsenal by six points.
After the game, Guardiola conceded that his team was outperformed by Unai Emery’s side on the evening.
“Aston Villa were better,” Pep said before adding; “They played a fantastic game. We struggled to make our passes and be aggressive in some moments in behind. The better team won.
“We struggled, especially in the first half. The second half was completely different. We adjusted something, but in the final third, the quality of the pass or the movement, we didn’t find it all game.
“The first 15 or 20 minutes were best, but after that they had the momentum.
“They are a physical team. They made a good pressing. They are incredibly organised so it’s difficult to find the pockets and with the moments in behind, we struggled a little bit.”
This defeat comes on the back of a run of three consecutive draws against Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs. It’s the first time that they have gone four Premier League games without a victory since 2017
“The fact that we didn’t win the last two games, we had a little bit of pressure here,” Guardiola continued.
“But it’s the quality of the Premier League. Some of the teams are exceptional. The previous games that we played were good. Today, Aston Villa were better.
“The challenge is to get to Luton and to try and win the game. That is the reality. We know perfectly what we have done, what is our level. We have to lift them again and find the way to win games and to play better.”
If City fails to defeat Luton, they will have no chance of topping the Premier League table on Christmas Day.
