Roy Keane dismisses Aston Villa's UEFA Champions League hopes after Manchester City defeat

Roy Keane believes Manchester City's dramatic 2-1 win over Aston Villa will prove decisive in the race for UEFA Champions League football.

Manchester City took an early lead when Emi Martinez was unable to keep Bernardo Silva's effort out, though the Villans equalised through Marcus Rashford with the Manchester United loanee scoring from the spot.

As the game looked to be petering out into a draw, Jeremy Doku found Matheus Nunes, who scored at the back post to secure a vital win for the hosts.

Late goals have been Villa's undoing on a number of occasions this season with nearly a quarter of their goals being shipped in the final 10 minutes of games. Evanilson scored in the 96th minute to secure a 1-1 draw for Bournemouth, while two late Nottingham Forest goals saw them come from 1-0 down to win 2-1, but the latest setback may prove to be the costliest.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Keane said: "The problem for Villa is they're running out of games.

"And the goal difference is a big problem for them; that's why I think it's such a setback, the type of goals they gave away, you look at the manager and talk about them being well organised, but you saw that stat giving up late goals, that'll be costly for them at the end of the season.

"There'll be one or two twists but when you get yourselves in a position where you've got a draw and you think you're not capable of going on to win the game, don't lose it. Keep that momentum, keep City near you. You've seen the reaction of Manchester City and you've seen the reaction of the Villa manager and the players - they know what a big moment that was."

The loss leaves Villa two points outside the top five, albeit having played a game more than their rivals, though the Villans do have cause for optimism.

Pep Guardiola's men should have done enough for a top-five spot, leaving the final two places between Villa, Forest, Chelsea and Newcastle, though the sides still have tricky fixtures to come.

Nottingham Forest will host Chelsea on the final day, while the Blues still have to travel to Newcastle and host Liverpool, and the Magpies still have to travel to Arsenal.

Liam Williams

• Aston Villa F.C.
• Premier League
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