Aston Villa vs. Manchester City: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League

Remi Garde couldn't have asked for a much better result on his debut. 

The new Aston Villa manager watched as his side earned a scoreless draw against Manchester City, which came into Sunday atop the Premier League table. it was a huge result for a Villa side that had taken just four points from its first 11 Premier League contests and was all alone at the bottom of the table. 

Sam Tighe of Bleacher Report broke down the result for Villa:

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated also praised one of the side's standout performers:

City, by all measures, dominated much of the match. Per Squawka Football, they held 57 percent of possession, outshot Villa 13-3 and had 35 crosses to just 12 for their opponents. Villa didn't so much as manage a shot on target, the first time that's happened for the club in the Premier League since August of 2014, according to OptaJoe.

The result offered a more positive irregularity for Villa, however, per Squawka Football:

Manchester City were the stronger, more threatening team in the opening stages, as was to be expected. Aston Villa's defense remained resolute, however, and the Citizens were dealt a major blow when forward Wilfried Bony had to leave the game due to a leg injury within the first 25 minutes. 

That left City, at least temporarily, without their first two options at forward in Sergio Aguero and Bony, while star playmaker David Silva also remains injured. Winger Jesus Navas came into the game to replace Bony, moving Sterling into the centre of the pitch as the team's striker for the duration of the match.

Aston Villa seemed to come into the game more as the first half continued, providing a bit of a threat going forward while limiting City's chances. Neither team could find the net in the first 45 minutes, however. 

Sterling, as always, provided a threat, though his oft-inconsistent finishing was a factor in the game, namely early in the second half when Navas found him all alone in the box with a perfect cross but Sterling's header was sent directly in the path of goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who made a key save to keep the game scoreless. 

It was the sort of chance he's expected to convert, as James Robson of the Manchester Evening News noted:

Navas continued to threaten down the right side, playing a low cross to Kevin De Bruyne in the 65th minute in front of goal. De Bruyne appeared to get the ball caught in his feet, however, and his attempt skimmed wide of goal.

Former Aston Villa man Fabian Delph came on in the 78th minute for Manchester City, meanwhile, as a chorus of boos and jeers rang down from Villa Park.   

City, as was to be expected, continued to press, and Fernando had a free header in the box after a short-corner routine in stoppage time. His attempt hit the crossbar, however, before a follow-up attempt from Delph outside of the box rolled just wide of the goal.

That was as close as City would get. The result is surely a concerning one on several fronts, as Arsenal can go top of the table on Sunday with a win over Tottenham. The Citizens also have to be worried about their depth at forward as well, depending on the severity of Bony's injury.

And scoring has become a concern in Premier League play in recent games, as City have failed to score in two of their past three league games. They only failed to score in two of their previous 45 EPL matchups before this recent dry stretch, according to WhoScored.com.

Villa, meanwhile, now have something positive to build on after such a disappointing start to the season. 

Post-Match Reaction

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

After the match, City manager Manuel Pellegrini lamented the result.

"We’re disappointed because I think we did enough to we the game" he told City's website.

He credited Villa's performance as well, however.

"

I think Aston Villa defended very well. They had nine out of ten often in their box. We tried to make a breakthrough. Two or three times we were very unlucky. I said before that it was going to be a difficult game. They have a new manager and a lot of motivation. They changed their system. We had clear chances, but didn’t take them and this happens in football.

"

While City were left in disappointment, Villa and players like Micah Richards were thrilled with the result, as he said after the match via Villa's official Twitter account:

The question will be whether Aston Villa can build on this result. The club has a tough match against Everton upcoming on Nov. 21, which will be another test for Garde's charges. 

City will look to recover from Sunday's result against Liverpool on Nov. 21, meanwhile, the first time the Citizens will be facing new Reds manager Jurgen Klopp.