Nico O’Reilly sends three-word Man City message, James McAtee reacts
James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly both earned starts for Manchester City as they beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Monday.
Man City continued their revival at the climax of a campaign which has largely been one to forget for Pep Guardiola‘s side, and rubber-stamped their bid to secure Champions League qualification at the Etihad.
Matheus Nunes’ 94th-minute winner decided a controversial clash against City’s Premier League top-five rivals, who equalised in the first half through a Marcus Rashford penalty which split opinion.
Man City’s victory raises them up to third in the table and in pole position to secure a Champions League place next term, and provides the perfect setup to their FA Cup semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest.
McAtee and O’Reilly pass Man City auditions
Man City’s injury issues have been significant and squad-wide this season, to the extent that the decisive goalscorer Nunes now seen by Guardiola as a better makeshift right-back than he is a central midfielder.
O’Reilly is also a number eight by trade, but operated on the opposite flank of City’s defence after his ability as an attacking left-back was made clear in a man-of-the-match display against Bournemouth.
| 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 |
McAtee, meanwhile, started ahead of the out-of-form Phil Foden on the right-hand side of midfield, and responded to O’Reilly’s Instagram post at full-time (22 April) after the two academy star’s performances.
O’Reilly’s three word message read: “An important win”, while his fellow starter McAtee added; “let’s go bro”, with both players clearly keen to make a strong impression at the back end of the season.
Man City may already have Kevin de Bruyne successor
City’s win over Aston Villa puts them on course for the Champions League and another strong campaign next term, but it will also be a season which is their first in 10 without De Bruyne marshalling the midfield.
Football Insider revealed on 11 April that City have already eyed up three potential replacements for De Bruyne in the summer window, as well as one possible internal successor in the form of Foden.
However, Foden’s form has fallen off a cliff while De Bruyne weighs up multiple offers from the MLS, and it could instead be O’Reilly or McAtee whom Guardiola turns to in his search to somehow find a player who can replicate the output the Belgian has produced across 10 trophy-laden seasons.