Analysis: Aston Villa fault lines exposed in stunning Etihad collapse
For 75 minutes it looked as though Villa had saved their best until last.
Then the fault lines which have undermined this hugely frustrating season were exposed one final time, in spectacular fashion.
Two goals up and on course to deny Manchester City the title in favour of his former club Liverpool, Steven Gerrard watched from the Etihad Stadium touchline as a famous win evaporated in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Three goals conceded in the space of five minutes: Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Gundogan again. Another win for the ages for City, a decade on from their most famous fight back. For Villa, a defeat which was bruising both mentally and in the case of goalkeeper Robin Olsen, struck during the pitch invasion which followed the final whistle, physically too.
On such occasions it is only right the victors take the praise. When Philippe Coutinho fired home a sublime finish from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 in the 69th minute, City looked sunk. You could only admire the courage of their subsequent resurrection.
Yet alongside each spectacular comeback there is a spectacular collapse and for Villa it all felt too familiar and predictable.
This wasn’t the first time in the last nine months they have contrived to lose after taking a 2-0 lead into the final 14 minutes. It happened last October against Wolves, a result which accelerated the end of Dean Smith’s managerial reign. If Gerrard really wants to take them forward next season, the fragility which continues to afflict his team must be addressed. Villa finished the campaign having lost 19 points from winning positions.
The signing of Boubacar Kamara, a holding midfielder of the type Villa have sorely lacked, should help in that regard.
A big summer which has been looming for at least a couple of months has finally arrived and Villa look well set to make some early inroads into the reset. Burnley defender James Tarkowski is another target who will be spoken to in the weeks ahead.
Outgoings are inevitable, though Villa have historically found it tricky to move players off the books. Offers will be welcomed for Morgan Sanson, Anwar El Ghazi, Trezeguet and others though just how many of those will come close to matching the club’s valuation is tougher to predict.
A quick run through the numbers indicates just how much progress is required to turn Villa into a serious top half team.
They finished this season with 10 fewer points than last, three places lower in the table, having scored fewer goals. The final gap to European football, meanwhile, was 11 points, a not insignificant gulf to bridge in the space of one transfer window, even if Villa manage to hit the mark with the majority of their signings.
Villa finished the season having failed to take a single point from matches against the top five, while only Everton, Watford and Norwich lost more times in the Premier League this term.
The sale of Jack Grealish, so often their difference-maker but a bit-part player in City's success, together with the varied struggles of those players who replaced him, offer a little mitigation.
But Villa have spent too much money for a 14th-placed finish to be deemed anywhere near acceptable. It simply must not be repeated. The strategic plan spoken of so often by chief executive Christian Purslow since promotion was achieved at Wembley three years ago would appear to have reached a critical juncture.
Villa have now lost 12 on the spin at the Etihad and their rotten record at the venue, ever since goals from John Carew and Shaun Maloney earned a 2-0 win 15 years ago, meant few gave them much of a chance on Sunday.
And yet for so long, they looked set to deliver a stunning knockout blow to City’s title hopes.
The hosts, unsurprisingly, dominated on the ball but Olsen, making his first appearance in English football since turning out for Sheffield United in a 3-1 Championship defeat at Blackburn in early November, was largely untroubled in the early stages.
Even though Wolves were holding Liverpool, the tension inside the Etihad was palpable even before Matty Cash headed Villa in front eight minutes before the break. Two players definitely part of Gerrard’s plans next season, Jacob Ramsey and Lucas Digne, were the architects, the former driving at the home defence and the latter delivering a pinpoint cross for Cash to head beyond Ederson.
Two big chances for Ollie Watkins later proved pivotal.
Twice the striker went through on goal, twice he was unable to hit the target. In a season which has seen him score 11 goals and again finish the club’s top scorer that is something else which has happened a little too often.
The misses didn’t look like they would matter when Coutinho controlled Watkins’ flick with one touch and then fired a shot inside the near post with his second to double the lead.
But from the moment Gundogan rose at the far post to head home Raheem Sterling’s cross their only looked like being one winner.
Rodri levelled it up two minutes later with a firm, first-time shot inside the post after fine work from Oleksandr Zinchenko. Then, with Villa backtracking, Gundogan appeared at the back post again to tap home Kevin De Bruyne’s cross and seal a fourth title in five seasons.
