The Norwegian marksman scored twice alongside efforts from Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez in a classy performance from Pep Guardiola’s side, while Sekou Mara struck a consolation for a Saints outfit who had nothing to show for their fleeting threats in the first half.
Browsing: Jack Grealish
Centre-back Akanji has impressed in his three appearances since joining from Borussia Dortmund on deadline day earlier this month, and has managed to keep Ruben Dias, John Stones and Nathan Ake out of the team at times. His debut at Sevilla earned him praise from Guardiola, who compared his style to new teammate Aymeric Laporte and hailed the club for completing the signing.
Smith took over as Villa manager in 2018 and led the club out of the Championship and into the Premier League. They finished 11th last season but have endured a slide in the current campaign – the defeat at St Mary’s was their fifth straight loss.
Manchester City opened the scoring after 13 minutes but had been denied by Lewis Dunk just moments earlier.
The forward’s first goal of the season gave the visitors a third straight win and revenge for last month’s Community Shield defeat to the Foxes.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta, back at the Etihad Stadium where he worked as an assistant between 2016 and 2019, watched in horror as his team fell apart early on, with Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres giving City a 2-0 lead inside 12 minutes.
The champions lost the Community Shield against Leicester and their Premier League opener at Tottenham without scoring, but they put the Canaries to the sword in the Manchester rain.
City paid a fee of 100 million pounds ($139 million), Villa chief executive Christian Purslow confirmed.
The Mirror claimed Grealish has been spotted leaving the Etihad training campus ahead of his record breaking transfer to Manchester City.
The England international is believed to be a leading transfer target for Pep Guardiola’s side, who are also being linked with a move for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.
After catching the eye in the final group game against Czech Republic, a performance for which he won UEFA’s ‘Star of the match’ award, Saka will hope to retain his place in the starting line-up for the eagerly-anticipated last-16 clash at Wembley on Tuesday.
Having kicked off Group D by beating World Cup semi-final foes Croatia and then been booed off following the goalless draw with rivals Scotland, Gareth Southgate’s already-qualified side put in a controlled display on Tuesday
Centre back Dias was named England’s Footballer of the Year in the annual vote of the Football Writers’ Association last month following a superb debut campaign after his move from Benfica last year.
Named in Gareth Southgate’s starting lineup for the Euro 2020 warm-up friendly against Austria, Saka shone at the Riverside Stadium as the Arsenal youngster made a strong case for minutes at this summer’s tournament.
Having suffered four defeats in five matches, Palace are in need of a win to boost their chances of finishing no lower than 13th position.
The champions were on the end of a 7-2 humiliation in the reverse fixture at Villa Park in October – one of nine defeats they have suffered this season to leave them playing catch-up in the top-four race.
Villa, meanwhile, may need to avoid defeat to remain in the top half of the table for another matchday.
The 25-year-old England international was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, after previously pleading guilty to two charges, including one linked to the incident in which his 4×4 hit two parked vehicles in Dickens Heath, Solihull, West Midlands.
Bukayo Saka’s own goal opened the scoring for the visitors, who could have run up an even more flattering score as John McGinn saw a goal harshly ruled out by VAR and Jack Grealish was denied by a goal-line clearance from Dani Ceballos.
After an entertaining but goalless first half, Jack Grealish went close to a stunning opener for Aston Villa in the 52nd minute.