Manchester City 3 Villa 1

Manchester City came from behind to kill Villa's Champions League dream and keep their own alive.

The claret and blues had led through John Carew's calmly-taken opener on 16 minutes, but a Carlos Tevez penalty and Emmanuel Adebayor strike just before the break turned the game on its head.

Craig Bellamy made certain of the victory with a minute to go as City leapfrogged Villa into fifth, a point behind Tottenham, who defeated Bolton going into their showdown on Wednesday.

It left Martin O'Neill's side three points adrift of fourth with a vastly inferior goal difference, having played a game more than City and Spurs.

Hero-turned-villain Gareth Barry was deprived of the chance to go up against his former employers due to a hamstring injury, while City also handed a start to emergency loan signing Marton Fulop between the sticks.

O'Neill named an unchanged line-up.

The home side began the brighter and threatened in the 10th minute when Bellamy's deflected shot had to be clawed from underneath his bar by back-pedalling goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Yet it was Villa who took the lead against the run of play six minutes later with the simplest of goals, as Stewart Downing threaded in Carew and the striker slotted past Fulop.

City twice had claims for a penalty correctly turned away by referee Mark Clattenburg, first when Pablo Zabaleta collided with Stiliyan Petrov then when Tevez's piledriver hit Stephen Warnock's hand.

Down the other end, Downing's piledriver was inches away after the winger was teed up by Gabby Agbonlahor on 27 minutes, while James Milner's low shot deflected agonisingly past the post.

Villa soon came to rue those missed opportunities when a City spot kick claim was finally granted, after Warnock mistimed lunge inside the box grounded Adam Johnson.

Friedel guessed rightly down the middle but, excruciatingly, Tevez's 41st-minute penalty squirmed underneath him.

O'Neill's team almost hit back immediately when Carew turned Vincent Kompany superbly, before rattling the woodwork with a vicious shot.

It proved the game's pivotal moment as City went down the other end and scored – Adebayor bundling home from close range after Johnson had got the better of Downing at the right byline.

Villa never recovered from the blow and, despite a valiant second-half effort, lacked the ingenuity to unlock the City defence.

Ashley Young was their biggest threat and his cross-cum-shot almost crept in at the far post, while on 66 minutes Bellamy saw his curling effort brilliantly saved by Friedel.

O'Neill threw on Emile Heskey and Nathan Delfouneso in one last throw of the dice and James Collins had a sight of goal rising to meet a Young corner, but was unable to head goalwards.

But it proved to no avail as City made sure of the points late on when substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips picked out the unmarked Bellamy inside the box, who fired home to leave Villa facing up to another hard-luck story.