Villa Face Cup Final Loss - But Is This a Turning Point?

Aston Villa failed to raise their sixth league cup on Sunday following a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.

The Midlands side were left gutted as their hopes of winning their first piece of silverware in over 20 years were dashed at the hands of a world-class City side, who made it their third consecutive victory in the competition.

The action-packed final was gripping throughout with some end-to-end phases, however Manchester City's quality really shone through in Villa's final third, as each attack looked dangerous. Guardiola's side got their first goal within 20 minutes with a soft ball in from Aguero.  A familiar pain for Villa players and fans this season - conceding weak goals from crosses and set pieces.

However, City's win did not come without some controversy. Their second goal was arguably the result of a foul corner, as the ball had deflected off Gündoğan to go behind for a goal kick. The linesman and ref were completely oblivious and blamed skipper Jack Grealish for the ball rolling out of play. This meant that once again, City could capitalise on Villa's greatest weakness, and Rodri doubled their advantage.

Sunday's Villa side seemed to have the confidence and aggression that the one that lost 6-1 to City back in January seemed to be lacking. There were particularly a few promising runs in the opening five minutes that offered some optimism for fans.

The determination was evident in the build up to Villa's goal, as a boisterous El Ghazi made his run past a collapsed John Stones, feeding a delicious ball in to the path of exciting new striker, Samatta. His impressive bullet header made him the first Tanzanian player to have scored at Wembley, and gave Villa fans some much deserved time to celebrate at the national stadium. 

The first half closed with both sets of fans feeling somewhat confident, despite Villa struggling in possession. The sea of claret and sky blue shirts, flags and scarves applauded their men down the tunnel after a tough opening 45 for both fan and player alike.

Second halves have been notoriously difficult for the Villains in the premier league this season, however they managed to keep City relatively quiet on this occasion. Chances came and went, and with De Bruyne entering the game, things were definitely looking tough for Villa. City's number 17 instantly pulled the strings on the pitch, drawing out plays from his teammates, but to no avail.

Youngster Phil Foden was lively all night and was deserving of his MOTM title, yet he was unable to break down Villa's back four. Nyland again made a few good saves, but the save of the evening definitely came from Bravo at the other end of the pitch. His fingertip save of Engels' late header pushed the ball on to the bar, just enough that City could clear it away. A devastated sigh echoes from the Villa half, as this would be the best and only remaining chance that they would have to push the game to extra time.

The whilst blew after a few very nervy minutes for City, as Villa pushed further forward and dug deep for a result. It was evident that the newly promoted side were tiring, much quicker than their domestic treble-winning opposition. Grealish was seen cramping up through out most of the second half, which is unusual from the skipper who usually commands the pitch until the final whistle.

In general, Villa can take a lot of pride from their performance on Sunday evening. They  demonstrated heart, passion, and competition against a side who remain at the top of world football. Whilst the loss is gutting, particularly when one of City's goals perhaps should not have stood, Villa must use this performance as fuel for their remaining games in this league season.