For Manchester City and Erling Haaland, another fruitless visit to Villa Park. It was not quite last season, when defeat here approaching Christmas was a ninth in a dozen matches, but it was equally painful.
With a minute of regular time to play, Haaland clattered into a post after meeting an inch-perfect cross by Omar Marmoush, having squeezed the ball over the Aston Villa goalline. But the assistant referee raised his flag and, as Haaland lay wincing, a check by the video assistant referee confirmed the goal would not stand. City departed this stadium empty‑handed for a third successive season.
