To welcome Manchester City to Villa Park, the hosts set up rather defensively, with Paul Lambert putting his boys into a 5-3-2 formation in an attempt to grind out a point. And Aston Villa almost made it to the end of the first half without giving up a goal. Almost.
The hosts were likely feeling a bit flustered as Manchester City set up for their ninth corner of the match. They’d already needed to scramble a couple times to keep out the visitors, and Antonio Luna had just been forced to clear one off the line. This time, Karim El Ahmadi got his head on the corner, but couldn’t clear, sending it straight to Yaya Toure. The Ivorian reacted with lightning speed, flicking the ball through the legs of Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
While the Villa “defense” should be putting the American under less pressure, Guzan really should have done better there. He’ll be hoping a halftime chat from Lambert will talk down the young Villans’ nerves and allow them to get back in the match. Be sure to tune in to NBCSN or catch the second half action live online via NBC Sports Live Extra.
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