Aston Villa v Manchester City player ratings: Matty Cash 3; Phil Foden 9, John Stones 2

City go 11 points clear as they home in on Premier League title

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez - 5, Made a smart save to deny Riyad Mahrez but shouldn’t have come off his line for City’s second. EPA

Matty Cash - 3, Struggled to deal with Phil Foden all night and got sent off for two quick-fire fouls on the City man that both earned a yellow. The second of those was a ludicrous tackle to make. Reuters

Ezri Konsa - 7, Defended resolutely and coolly throughout, even though he was doing two jobs at once at times after Cash’s dismissal. Did well to deal with Mahrez’s late ball towards Foden.nEPA

Tyrone Mings - 7, His quick thinking created the opener, and the defender made a good block to deny Ilkay Gundogan, showing solidity throughout. Reuters

Matt Targett - 6, Put in a lot of good defensive work but the creativity on City’s right proved too much for him to stop at times. Getty

Douglas Luiz - 6, Some of the Brazilian’s pressing was brilliant, but he also had some sloppy moments on the ball, one of which resulted in a City free-kick in a dangerous area. Improved on the ball in the second half. Reuters

Marvelous Nakamba - 5, Worked hard and showed discipline but lost his man a couple of times and struggled with the ball at his feet. Reuters

Bertrand Traore - 6, Showed some good moments of quality but struggled to really test Oleksandr Zinchenko. Reuters

John McGinn - 7, Scored the opener inside 20 seconds, but some of the Scotsman’s passing in his own half was poor. Worked hard for the team throughout. Reuters

Jacob Ramsey - 6, His run behind the City defence forced John Stones to make a decision that got the defender sent off. He did well to help Targett defensively and had the odd moment going forward. Reuters

Ollie Watkins - 7, Hardly saw the ball all game but his run behind the City defence and pass to McGinn for the opener were brilliant. Reuters

SUBS: Keinan Davis (Ramsey HT) - 6, Put himself about and was a nuisance at times, but couldn’t get himself any real goalscoring opportunities. Getty

Ross Barkley (Nakamba 63’) - 5, The midfielder’s passing was way below the standard expected of him, as he gave the ball away so cheaply at times. Reuters

Anwar El Ghazi (Traore 75’) – N/R, Struggled to get on the ball with City keeping it for large periods towards the end. Reuters

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 7, Had no chance of stopping the opener, but the Brazilian helped his team with a great ball to start the move for the equaliser. AP

Kyle Walker - 7, Made a good block to deny Luiz and offered some good attacking contributions with his bursts up the pitch. AFP

John Stones - 2, Should have done a lot better to cut the ball out for the opener, and then got himself sent off for a dangerous challenge on Ramsey. Not the best thing to do with Gareth Southgate in the stands. Reuters

Ruben Dias - 6, Didn’t always look too dominant in the first half, but often did what was required and put in a strong performance in the second period. Reuters

Oleksandr Zinchenko - 6, Made a good run forward in the build-up to the equaliser. Showed a lack of awareness at times, and his decision to duck under the ball could have got his team in trouble. Reuters

Bernardo Silva - 9, Put in brilliant work to set up City’s equaliser, before putting their second on a plate for Rodri with a nice clipped pass. Was busy throughout, linking play superbly and often dictating the play. Reuters

Rodri - 8, Nipped in well to score the goal that put City ahead, filled in at centre-back for a short time after Stones was sent off and looked comfortable throughout. PA

Ilkay Gundogan - 7, Moved the ball nicely and made some smart runs to stretch the Villa defence. Booked for protesting against Stones’ red. EPA

Riyad Mahrez - 7, Was a constant threat in the early stages, forcing a decent save from Martinez, before showing good decision-making for the equaliser. Was a bit quieter in the second half. Reuters

Gabriel Jesus - 5, It was a quiet performance from the Brazilian, who struggled to get into the game much at all. It wasn’t a surprise that he was the man sacrificed to bring on another defender at half time. AFP

Phil Foden - 9, His footwork was outstanding, especially in tight spaces, and the Englishman took his chance to score the equaliser well. The 20-year-old was a true pleasure to watch. Reuters

SUBS: Aymeric Laporte (Jesus HT) - 7, Was solid in his defensive play whether the ball was on the floor or in the air, doing especially well to get his head on a loose ball despite pressure from Konsa. AP

Fernandinho (Mahrez 90’) – N/R, Showed composure to help his side see out the game’s final moments. Getty

Manchester City closed in on the Premier League title as the leaders fought back to win 2-1 at Aston Villa in their first match since withdrawing from the European Super League.

Pep Guardiola's side were rocked by John McGinn's opener for Villa after just 20 seconds but recovered impressively as Phil Foden equalised before Rodri put the visitors ahead.

City defender John Stones threatened to derail his team's charge when he was sent off for a reckless foul on Jacob Ramsey just before half-time.

However, Villa were reduced to 10 men as well when Matty Cash earned a second booking for chopping down Foden in the second half.

City are 11 points clear of second placed Manchester United and need a maximum of eight points from their remaining five games to clinch a third Premier League title in four seasons.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.