Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa result - Last-gasp Nunes winner sends City third in Premier League as race for Champions League qualification hots up

LAST-GASP NUNES WINNER SEES MAN CITY BEAT VILLA TO GO THIRD

Matheus Nunes scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester City deep in stoppage time to earn Manchester City a last-gasp 2-1 win over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

The result sends Pep Guardiola's side third in the Premier League, giving them the edge in the battle to finish in the top five, with beaten Villa now two points off the pace with four matches remaining and the three teams above them having a game in hand.

In a fiesty encounter, it was Villa who could have opened the scoring inside just 20 seconds when Marcus Rashford hit the post after turning Ruben Diaz inside out on the edge of the box.

Yet it was City who took an early lead on seven minutes, with Bernardo Silva slamming a shot through the gloves of Emiliano Martinez after terrific work by Omar Marmoush to cut the ball back in the box.

Villa hit back from the spot after VAR intervened to rule Ruben Dias had caught Jacob Ramsey in the box - a decision that prompted passionate protests from the City players and saw Pep Guardiola booked for his complaints. But the referee agreed with his video assistants and Rashford converted from the spot to level the match in the 18th minute.

And, despite near-constant City pressure for much of the remainder of the game, it looked like that penalty would be enough to earn Villa an important point in their battle to qualify for the UEFA Champions League once again.

But, in the 94th minute, Jeremy Doku made a brilliant run down the left and crossed across the face of goal for Nunes to finish from a tight angle beyond the far post, earning City a 2-1 win that puts them in the driving seat in the five-way tussle for the remaining Champions League qualification spots.

CITY EDGE AHEAD IN TOP-FIVE RACE

That late, late winner means Man City are up to third in the Premier League, a point ahead of Nottingham Forest, who have a game in hand. Villa will be frustrated by missing out on a result tonight, with that loss leaving them two points outside the top five but having played a game more than the three teams directly above them - Chelsea, Newcastle and Forest. The race for those five UEFA Champions League qualification places is certainly not over, but this result could prove pivotal in the final shake-up.