Bernardo on the mark in house that Jack built...

PEP Guardiola labelling Manchester City’s current situation as an emergency has all the hallmarks of a hoax call. Now it does, anyway. it did not an hour before kick-off, with six first-team players left back in the North West for different reasons and only two senior outfielders on their bench.

Guardiola was not kidding when suggesting that the lengthy absentee list constituted something of a crisis earlier in the week — even for such a talented squad.

He was justified in fearing that an upwardly mobile aston Villa, with the fresh impetus of Steven Gerrard, could represent trouble.

But this team constantly find a way, they get it done.

at times towards the end, they needed to dig deep and relied on their goalkeeper. Passes went awry, Villa had momentum, yet City left with another victory.

and they left with a second goal worthy of winning any game, Bernardo Silva’s sumptuous finish, the sort of which that ought to be bottled and sent to the Football Museum as proof of Guardiola’s genius for future generations. The measure of dominance was such that Villa just could not vacate their own penalty area for the opening 11 minutes.

That is how long it took for them to register a touch inside City’s half, paralysed by the invention and confused by the overloads in wide areas.

ollie Watkins was the man who had that touch and, with the crowd up, did well to manufacture an opportunity for leon Bailey at the back post.

City scrambled back and snuffed out Bailey’s threat but there was every chance that Gerrard could see his side cause problems if their tempo remained high and possession direct.

it did for a bit. Bailey infuriated the home fans when dallying as he broke free from midfield and delaying a pass, although City were unfortunate not to have already been in front midway through the first half. Joao Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and rodri all went close, two of them drawing decent saves by Emiliano Martinez.

raheem Sterling’s purposefulness posed a tough assignment for Matty Cash and that is where the opener came from three minutes before the half-hour.

Sterling spent the night driving at Villa’s bye-line and flew beyond John McGinn, cutting back into area for someone to attack. City did not legislate for that man to be ruben dias.

dias was on the edge of the box and, despite watching his manager berate oleksandr Zinchenko for shooting wildly earlier on, swung a left leg. The effort took a nick off Bailey and curled into Martinez’s corner. dias, quite incredibly, became City’s 17th different scorer of the season.

Guardiola has said many times that is how this incarnation of City win another title, by everybody chipping in. There is no Sergio aguero to rely upon these days and, until a frontline striker arrives, quite a few will need to register five goals or more for the year. Still, dias isn’t necessarily one of them.

Silva (below) is, though. and what a stunner his was, two minutes before the break.

The sort of move that had even Guardiola laughing on the City bench. Villa were attacking but not for long, Fernandinho looped a ball forward for Jesus and suddenly the visitors were in.

Two on two. Villa seemed done for. Jesus waited, clipped a perfectly weighted pass right onto Silva’s left instep. Volley, goal, Martinez looking over his shoulder in admiration. But Gerrard’s side stuck at it and pulled a goal back when Watkins fired douglas luiz’s corner in off the post.

They sensed they could yet take something from the game and put City under pressure.

From nowhere, Villa Park was suddenly alive, telling Jack Grealish —jogging up and down the touchline — rather loudly that he ‘used to play for a big club’. Villa fancied this. McGinn swung towards Watkins, only for Nathan ake to steal a march on Ezri Konsa inside the six-yard box.

Var decided the coming together was not enough to award a penalty.

Grealish was a late substitute on his first return to Villa Park since his £100million summer move to City to earn a mixed reception. But it was a night when he and his team-mates would have the last laugh.

ASTON VILLA (4-3-2-1): Martinez 6; Cash 6, Konsa 6, Mings 6, Targett 6 (Chukwuemeka 67min); McGinn 7, Nakamba 6 (Sanson 77), Luiz 7; Buendia 6, Bailey 5 (Young 31); Watkins 7. Subs not used: Steer, Tuanzebe, El Ghazi, Hause, Davis, J Ramsey. Booked: None.

MAN CITY (4-2-4): Ederson 6; Cancelo 7, Dias 7, Ake 6, Zinchenko 6; Fernandinho 7, Rodri 7; Mahrez 7, Jesus 7 (Grealish 87), Silva 7, Sterling 8. Subs not used: Steffen, Carson, Foden, Mbete-Tabu, Palmer, McAtee, Lavia, Wilson-Esbrand. Booked: None.

Man of the match: Raheem Sterllng. Referee: Mike Dean. Attendance: 41,400.