Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa: Matheus Nunes’ late winner puts hosts on course for Champions League qualification after Marcus Rashford came back to haunt his old rivals

There had been an Aston Villa supporter on social media insisting the reaction to that Ilkay Gundogan goal on 2022’s mind-bending final day was the loudest he’d ever witnessed a football stadium. 

This Matheus Nunes winner, deep into stoppage time and owing to wonder wing play by Jeremy Doku, might well have run those decibel levels close. It all went a bit feral for a few seconds.

Seismic for Manchester City, a wild moment to go with all of the others, when the television cameras shake as the stadium’s foundations rock.

Although not a title-winning, Gundogan moment, this one’s likely to be iconic in its own sphere, looking back on that rubbish season and its big hurrah – brilliantly manufactured by an attacker often criticised for an allergy to finding his man and scored by a makeshift right back who Pep Guardiola recently claimed wasn’t ‘clever enough’ to play his natural midfield position.

Well, that is this silly campaign summed up as City somehow head towards the weekend FA Cup semi-final in the driving seat to qualify for a 15th consecutive edition of the Champions League. They found a way of creating drama, Rodri racing down to the touchline in celebration. He was the recipient of a bear hug from an emotional Guardiola as staff had been after the late win at Everton on Saturday.

City, appearing to be on their last legs for much of the campaign with old heads, suddenly comeback from two goals down against Crystal Palace and then beat two teams in the final knockings. A resurgence for weary legs and for Doku, who turned this and Everton on their heads from the bench.

Unai Emery, who had thought Villa were going to pinch it themselves seconds before that 94th-minute intervention, was bereft. A point hadn’t pleased him regardless and now there are four between them and City. They rely on snookers, albeit defeat is certainly not terminal as rivals face each other.

Some fury, some tension in the air. Guardiola and Emery were a pair of skittish cats, set off by any unexpected noise or tackle. Villa pushed, City pressed. Early goalscorer Bernardo Silva rolled around in the name of gamesmanship after being grazed by a stud. Marcus Rashford, to a cacophony of jeers, engineered an equaliser. Lucas Digne nicked Kevin De Bruyne’s big toe and the arms of thousands were thrown in unison.

Absorbing in a way Premier League games generally aren’t anymore, two truly top teams feeling each other out by going forward. There was a bite, an underlying mild aggravation.

Given the backdrop of activism around east Manchester at the moment, the occasion played out exactly how the leaders of fan groups disenchanted by City’s ticketing policies had hoped. They protested but not inside the ground, refusing to distract from the team’s crucial fixture in their bid to reach a competition many of those demonstrating will complain about being priced out of anyway.

The irony of that is a little comedic but the overall cause still worthwhile. The protests are not just about the escalating costs of watching City – and many others of their ilk – but of the general mood around your ‘average’ fan. It cost a minimum £71 for an adult to watch this match. Irrespective of how good the spectacle was, that is wrong and the protests outside the Colin Bell Stand happening next to holidaymakers taking pictures on a one-off visit illustrated feelings towards a Hollywoodified top flight. One Irish fan later pleaded for re-entry into the ground after full time because he’d left his iPad under his seat.

Worthy of a few photographs, this one. Rashford hit a post within 18 seconds, Silva opening the scoring after seven minutes – the Portuguese’s shot from Omar Marmoush’s cutback only parried into his own goal by Emiliano Martinez. The celebration, haring off to the corner flag, was reminiscent of Silva’s crazed reaction to scoring against Real Madrid here in a European semi-final two years ago.

The flow of proceedings was only blunted by VAR, a three-minute check for a penalty when Jacob Ramsey seemed to be clearly felled by the thigh of Ruben Dias. Craig Pawson waved it away, only to stop play much later to check. Dias had poked the ball and taken Ramsey with him, the controversial incident shown on the big screen – someone’s wrists will be slapped for that – prompting anger and angst. Rashford, who had charged towards goal in the build-up after picking up a ludicrously poor Nunes stray pass, rolled the penalty past Stefan Ortega.

There remained that edge, that lingering sense of imminent disaster at both ends. Emery and his set-piece coach, Austin MacPhee, both pleaded with players to hack opponents down on the counter.

Then the intake of breath when Ortega dashed out to meet a Morgan Rogers pass but never got there, allowing Rashford to skip past. Rashford had just ran it too far and the angle closed a degree too tight.

Ollie Watkins sat watching until 14 minutes to play, Rashford striding off calmly as the boos rang down and this dynamic between the two strikers is something that will doubtless come to a head in the summer. How that resolves itself might have much to do with which continent competition Villa find themselves in. City’s route is now clearer after the late show.