Man City took a big step towards Champions League football on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s men earned a 2-1 win over Aston Villa after a top performance from Bernardo Silva, who scored the Premier League champions’ first, before Matheus Nunes scored a 94th-minute winner to lift City up to third in the standings.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 33 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 75 | 31 | 44 | 79 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 33 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 61 | 27 | 34 | 66 |
| 3 |  Man CityManchester City | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 66 | 43 | 23 | 61 |
| 4 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 53 | 39 | 14 | 60 |
The Manchester club would start the contest very narrowly once again, with Omar Marmoush being the only natural winger in Guardiola’s starting 11, with Gary Neville heaping praise on the Man City star for his role in the opening goal.
Jeremy Doku would come on the assist Nunes’ winner, but there was no place once again for one of the City’s biggest stars, which has left Ally McCoist calling for the player to leave the Etihad Stadium.
- READ MORE: Why Ilkay Gundogan was actually ‘disappointed’ on the day he saved Man City vs Aston Villa in 2022
Ally McCoist believes Jack Grealish should leave Man City
Jack Grealish wants to remain at Man City next season despite the uncertainty around his future, and with several Premier League clubs showing interest.
The winger has been an unused sub in the Manchester club’s last two games, while also receiving just three minutes of action against Crystal Palace in the contest before.
Man City are open to selling Grealish this summer and it looks like this could be a possibility as it seems Guardiola has lost faith in the England star, who was once described by Dion Dublin on Match of the Day as ‘outstanding’ following a performance against the Eagles in April last year.
Having seen his minutes drop dramatically, talkSPORT pundit McCoist believes Grealish needs to leave Man City this summer after once again being an unused sub against Aston Villa.
“I think he has got to, just for his own career,” McCoist stated. “The way I am looking at it, if Jack can’t get gametime in a Manchester City team that has been really struggling, not now, but when is he going to get gametime? He has got to be playing at this stage of his career.”
With next season being part of the build-up to the 2026 World Cup, Grealish needs to be playing if he wants to be on the plane as part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
It remains to be seen if the winger changes his mind about wanting to remain at City and it will also be interesting to see what clubs approach the 29-year-old.
- READ MORE: John Terry says whether Jack Grealish should actually leave Man City as he’s ‘worried’ for him
Jason Cundy thinks Man City unlucky with penalty decision
A big talking point emerging out of Man City’s win over Aston Villa is whether the referee should have been sent to the monitor by VAR to have a look at Ruben Dias’ foul on Jacob Ramsey for the penalty in the first half.
Mark Clattenburg believes the Aston Villa penalty was not clear and obvious, which is a view shared by talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy.
“You think it is a stonewall. I don’t think that is the type of decision VAR needs to get involved with,” Cundy said. “I am not even totally convinced it was a pen, there is contact. VAR was brought in for howlers, that to me was not a howler.”
In the end, the officials got to the right decision as there was contact between Dias and Ramsey, but whether the referee should have had his decision second-guessed is up for debate.
Man City fans won’t mind after Nunez netted the winner, however, this may have been an even bigger talking point had the contest ended in a draw.
