Djed Spence reacts to four-word Jeremy Doku message after Man City beat Villa
Jeremy Doku proved to be a game-changer for Manchester City in their 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Monday.
Pep Guardiola‘s side are firmly on course to end their season to forget in strong style, and have now won their last three games in a row after Matheus Nunes’ last-gasp winner against Villa at the Etihad Stadium.
Nunes is one of several City players whom Guardiola has had to experiment and tinker with for City this season, as both he and fellow midfielder Nico O’Reilly operated as makeshift full-backs once again.
Man City climb up to third in the Premier League table as a result of Bernardo Silva and Nunes’ goals at either end of each half, leaving Aston Villa down in seventh and setting up a close-run end to the season.
Other than Champions League qualification, the FA Cup is City’s last change to salvage success from a below-par season by Guardiola’s standards, and face Nottingham Forest in their semi-final at Wembley.
Jeremy Doku makes the difference for Man City
Guardiola’s side to face Villa in a must-win game was a peculiar one, particularly in the final third, with Kevin De Bruyne used as a false nine as James McAtee and Omar Marmoush started in the wide berths.
Marcus Rashford’s equaliser from a controversially-awarded penalty came 11 minutes after Silva’s early opener, but Villa then sat in and were happy to take a draw which would’ve put them back in the top five.
| Position | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
| 3 | Manchester City | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | +23 | 61 |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | +14 | 60 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 33 | 18 | 5 | 10 | +18 | 59 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 33 | 16 | 9 | 8 | +18 | 57 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | +5 | 57 |
That was, however, until Guardiola introduced Doku from the bench in the 74th minute, and it was the Belgian who made the difference for City as he darted past Axel Disasi and squared for Nunes’ winner.
Writing on Instagram after full-time (23 April) in a post liked by Tottenham full-back Djed Spence, Doku said: “Until the very end… This is City! Forever grateful to God”
Man City ready new transfers despite Aston Villa victory
Although deputy right-back Nunes arrived late to net the goal which puts City in control of the five-team Champions League race, and O’Reilly impressed on the other side, it’s clear reinforcements are needed.
Left-back is seen as a problem position for City, to the extent that ex-England keeper Paul Robinson told Football Insider that Guardiola will have to “overpay” to sign Spence’s Spurs team-mate Destiny Udogie.
Further forward, City’s former financial advisor Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider that Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz is more likely to move to the Etihad than Real Madrid, but with Doku always explosive off the bench, Guardiola has no need to over-stock his options in attack.