How Villa ended City’s perfect start

Matty Cash said after the game that in Suzuki’s first possession drill at Villa, he thought they’d signed a midfielder (that just shows first hand how good his own teammates think he is with the ball). Watch him with the ball and you can see why. He holds it at his feet and waits. No rush to get rid of it, no hoof up the pitch. He’s inviting City’s front players to come and press him. He wants pressure.

Why? Because a keeper who waits on the ball turns the press into a trigger. Every City player who jumps leaves space behind him. When the forwards jump onto Suzuki and the centre-backs, City’s midfield has to jump too, or there’s a free Villa player. And the moment the midfield jumps, a gap opens up in front of City’s defensive line, right where Villa want to receive.

That’s the space Villa are trying to create. One pass through or over the press and a Villa player is in it, turning to face a back line. You’ve attracted five or six City players towards your own goal, and now you’re attacking the four who are left.

It takes a brave keeper with a good range of passing. We all know what happens when they hold it a second too long (I can hear Gary Neville in the distance slating GKs who take too many risks. Bore off, Gary). Get it right and the keeper decides when the game speeds up, and is the key to unlocking the opponent’s press. And when City did get through, he was there too (tipping Gvardiol’s effort onto the bar in the second half). A close shout for POTM IMO, alongside Cash. More on him in a bit.

Once Villa got the ball into midfield, they had a pattern. Kamara played it up to McGinn, got it straight back off him, then looked straight for Jackson. Up, back, through. It’s the quickest way past a midfield.

Why does it work? When McGinn receives with his back to goal, a City midfielder has to step onto him, or McGinn turns. So someone steps up, and that’s the trap. The set-back pulls the marker onto McGinn, McGinn lays it back to Kamara, who’s now facing forward, and the City midfielder who stepped out is out of the picture. Alternatively, McGinn found enough space on a few occasions to turn and play forward himself, into the space he created.

McGinn’s movement is the key bit. He comes short to combine, and that run is what opens the channel behind him. Space created for Villa to play through.

And look at what it does for Jackson and Manzambi. Facing forward, they can run straight at a back line that now has to defend in retreat, which is one of the hardest things to do as a centre-back. It also explains why Villa didn’t need the ball for long. Every spell of possession was about getting to that third pass as quickly as possible.

Six minutes in and Villa were already ahead. Without the ball, they went man for man high up the pitch from the start, which takes away the easy pass. City had to build into pressure.

Fernández dropped in to help build the play and chipped it over the top of the press to Guéhi. Three Villa players were already arriving as the ball dropped. Guéhi took a heavy touch, McGinn pounced on it and found Jackson, and Jackson cut inside Anderson and fired it past Donnarumma.

Why? The trap is set on the receiver, not the passer. A chipped ball hangs in the air, which gives the press time to arrive. That was the trigger McGinn and Jackson were reading. Their positions were set to pounce on the first touch. This is what a pressing trap is designed to achieve. In the moments you get it right (or your opponent makes a mistake) you are ready to capitalise. It’s then about taking the opportunity that comes after.

Win it that high and you’re one pass from goal, against a back line that was still preparing to build. Nobody is set. And the pressure didn’t stop there. Guéhi was booked for pulling Jackson back later in the half and was taken off at half-time. When a team presses you like that, every duel near your own box is a risk.

Doku is one of the best 1v1 players in the league. When he’s facing you at speed, you’re in trouble. So Cash’s job was simple to state and extremely hard to do: get tight early, before he can turn.

Why? A dribbler is most dangerous facing you at speed and with space. You’re running backwards against a player at speed, and he has the power to choose which way to go. Back to goal, the 1v1 duel never starts. He has to turn first, and if you’re touching distance away, he can’t. That means Cash can defend without diving in.

The risk of getting tight is being spun. That’s where the cover comes in. Covering the inside means that when Doku does cut in, he runs into Kamara and Alysson, not open spaces. Villa made sure to cover the inside in support of Cash. So Cash can be aggressive on the outside, knowing the inside is protected.

That’s a team plan making one player’s job easier. Cash didn’t have to win every duel on his own. He had to stop Doku turning and trust the people around him to do the rest. I’m not trying to understate the job he did either. Cash controlled the 1v1 battles and gave Doku one of his toughest games this season. A combination of getting tight early, timing his tackles perfectly and forcing him away from cutting inside to shoot meant that, for me, he put in a POTM performance.

Haaland headed City level on 52 minutes from Ndiaye’s cross, and City pushed on for the winner. This helps Villa, but let me explain why. Even Maresca said afterwards that against Villa you know you’re going to concede some transitions, because they play for that and they wait for it.

On the hour, Jackson fed the ball into Mbaye’s run down the right. Mbaye had been on the pitch for about a minute, and this was his first involvement. He raced clear, pulled it back, and Jackson hit it first time. It squirmed under Donnarumma, 2-1.

Why does it work? When a team pushes up, the space is behind them. Their full-backs push on (especially City’s), their midfield commits more players higher, and the space behind the back line grows. As a team, you’re taking more risks, becoming slightly more disconnected and as a result, conceding more space. For Villa, this means going long early skips their press entirely. One quick, direct pass and you’re in.

Emery’s one of my favourite coaches to watch and his timing was spot on too. Fresh legs from the bench attack tiring defenders, and Mbaye’s run came a minute after he came on. Jackson didn’t just play the pass either. He kept running and arrived in the box to finish the move he started. That’s what makes a transition work: not just the first pass, but how many people support it.