Pep's joy at dramatic win as City rises to third

MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola admitted his wild celebration of Matheus Nunes' stoppage-time winner against Aston Villa felt strange, because Manchester City doesn't score as many late goals as its Premier League rivals.

Nunes fired City to a crucial 2-1 victory over top-five rival Villa in the fourth minute of stoppage-time at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

Guardiola responded to the midfielder's composed finish from an acute angle by launching into a frenzied, fist-pumping dance of joy, capped by a primal roar that underlined the significance of the result.

City had been seconds away from a damaging draw in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top five finish.

But now it controls its own fate with four games left in its turbulent league season, thanks to an unusual feeling of last-gasp success.

"We're not used to it. That belongs to Liverpool especially, how many times did they score late winners under Jurgen (Klopp), and Arsenal under Mikel (Arteta) as well? I'm not used to it, so I'm really, really happy," Guardiola said.

"Football is emotion. For the fans, players, we have a lot of pressure for the club to go to the Champions League.

"The players behaved unbelievably. We are so pleased. We're in the last four games and we're a contender for Champions League qualification."

Nunes' first league goal for City came after Aston Villa striker Marcus Rashford converted a controversial penalty to cancel out Bernardo Silva's early opener.

Guardiola was booked for ranting at the fourth official when VAR intervened to call for a penalty after Ruben Dias made contact with Jacob Ramsey.

But, with time running out, City enjoyed a rare, uplifting moment in what has been a difficult campaign that will see it surrender the title it has won the past four seasons.

Under the circumstances, Guardiola will be happy with a top five berth this term.

"Aston Villa is a team to the last man, one of the top teams in Europe. But we played really good. We were aggressive in our duels, the back four was unbelievable," he said.

"Football, if you're in this business, is to live with disappointment. But, this performance was really good and we were able to do it.

"The season has been bad. The reality is, what makes you feel good is the Premier League."

Seventh-placed Villa is now two points adrift of the top five with four games left.

It was a bitter blow after its agonizing Champions League quarterfinal exit against Paris Saint-Germain last week.

But, Villa boss Unai Emery called on his players to bounce back in Saturday's FA Cup semifinal against Crystal Palace at Wembley.

"We can't waste time. We lost in the last minute of this match, but we competed well. We were close to drawing," he said.

"Over 90 minutes, Man City dominated more, but we played a good competitive match.

"We can't waste time now, we have to keep going. We want to try to keep the level that we're achieving, and try to be demanding in our way, so we can build our strength in everything.

"Tomorrow, rest. Thursday and Friday, be positive and work hard to prepare for the game against Crystal Palace."

AFP