As they walked away from Villa Park in the bitterness of December, bruised and well beaten, no one at Manchester City would have really thought that a 24-game unbeaten run was on the way.
Likewise, no one would have really thought that after such a long spell without defeat in all competitions, City could come bottom in a three-horse race for the Premier League title.
But here they are.
A fun season, in which Liverpool and Arsenal have made considerable progress on the eternal champions, who themselves threatened to accelerate and then accidentally slowed down.
A season in which Pep Guardiola saw fit to bench not only Erling Haaland but also Kevin De Bruyne against an opponent who had undoubtedly caused his team more problems in any individual match.
Phil Foden scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Aston Villa on Wednesday night
Foden justified Pep Guardiola’s bold decision to bench Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne
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A big decision or the last roll of the dice. The dice were hot; so was Phil Foden.
Last night, shortly after the hour mark, Foden was running towards the corner where both the creative genius and the scoring giant Guardiola were warming up in fluorescent tangerine dungarees.
He was running because his second of the night had just slotted calmly into Villa’s far corner, City were two goals ahead and the nervousness had subsided.
Foden, most productive when he is the main protagonist, has scored 20 goals in a campaign for the first time in his career.
Foden, another hat-trick to his name. The third of his career and the second in two months after scoring City’s fourth.
Twenty isn’t bad at all and it won’t be the last time Foden reaches that milestone, but the bigger picture here was that City haven’t given up any more ground to their rivals in arguably their toughest game of the race to the finish.
The headline news also surprised the guy who controls the music at Etihad Stadium, keeping the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army on the playlist.
Shortly after Guardiola’s team filtered onto the esplanades, those who filtered were singing De Bruyne’s song on the terrace.
And it was strange not to see him and Haaland lined up for a night that was as close to a must-win as possible. Even more so considering that Arsenal were already two goals ahead when City started the match.
Rodri scored first for Manchester City when he headed in Jeremy Doku’s cross at the near post.
Villa forward Jhon Durán beat Stefan Ortega with a low shot to equalize in the 20th minute
Foden restored City’s lead with a low 20-yard free kick on the stroke of half-time at the Etihad.
Foden extended City’s lead after 62 minutes when he fired low past Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
Points to prove everywhere and Guardiola knew it. To Foden: he sees and dominates the central area with Bernardo Silva. For Rico Lewis: face Nicolo Zaniolo, one of the most seductive attackers in the league. To Julián Álvarez, to Jack Grealish.
Then there is the man who can do no wrong, the constant beating of the heart. City really needed an early goal to calm this down, to stir a crowd in danger of disbelief, and Rodri provided it. As he has done so many times in big moments over the years.
Eleven minutes later, Foden darted into a half-space, watching Jeremy Doku out of it, slipping the Belgian into an acre. It was a pass that depended on the recipient and Doku, whose decision-making can be weak, cut carefully for Rodri, occupying that familiar space just inside the penalty area. He passed high into Robin Olsen’s goal.
Olsen had been a late change. Emiliano Martínez retired an hour early due to illness and, without Ollie Watkins either, Unai Emery’s task became a little more difficult in his own battle for a guaranteed Champions League place, helped by Tottenham’s draw on Tuesday. And with two starters in Jhon Durán and Tim Iroegbunam, who had only done it once before in the league.
Durán, however, went into a corner nine minutes later, scoring the equalizer and the first goal in any competition since September. The counterattack was slick, the kind that can always hurt City with its high line, although it owed plenty to Alvarez who conceded possession on the edge of the Villa area.
He had tried to run through them all rather than play an easy ball and City were punished, well ahead of the play and Villa progressed at a pace. Suddenly, after a handful of passes, Morgan Rogers was completing a one-two with Durán, who had outplayed Rubén Dias, and Stefan Ortega could only admire the finish in his far corner.
Alvarez could not redeem himself and hit Olsen when he was clean. And he had also missed a presentable free kick, so when another came from 20 yards out (when Douglas Luiz was very lucky not to receive a second yellow card), Foden took control. Zaniolo jumped out of the way as Foden curled up against the wall, fooling Olsen, and City took the lead.
Foden got his hat-trick in style with a fine shot into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Man City striker Erling Haaland was surprisingly left on the bench for the clash with Aston Villa.
Substitutes Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Haaland smiled in the warm-up at the Etihad.
Foden put an end to the match 17 minutes after the restart, largely due to Rodri’s sparkling feet opening up space. The academy graduate didn’t even seem to look as he headed toward Olsen’s bottom right corner.
How different all this could have been if Ortega had not stood his ground shortly before. He may be the number 2 here behind the injured Ederson, but there is a queue of sticks ready to catch the German, both because of his composure and his shot stopping. The shot save is not bad, throwing an arm in front of Douglas Luiz’s shot when Villa was one goal away. A great moment in the game.
It acted as a foundation for what would come later. Foden followed his second with a quite impressive fizz. Olsen blinked and missed it.