Certainly there were no doubters at Villa Park yesterday as the emerging hit man virtually guaranteed City a place in the FA Cup fifth round by half-time.
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All of which means Pellegrini’s troops are still very much in the hunt to win everything going this season. They have been better organised and confidence was growing but their five-match unbeaten run was effectively killed off in the 23rd minute.
Pellegrini said: “First of all, I think the ball was just one centimetre over the line but it was very hard for the linesman to see with the two posts, and the position of the referee can not allow him to see if the ball is completely out or not”.
“We know the FA Cup is important for the team and fans”.
“I’m happy. I’m so glad to score a hat-trick and I’m delighted as well”, Iheanacho said. We’ll see – not because of the three goals but because we need another striker.
“It’s a challenge for the squad and of course it’s a challenge for the players that play where Kevin does”.
The Anfield club entertain West Ham in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday having already tasted cup success this week when a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Stoke carried them through to the League Cup final meeting with Manchester City next month. Raheem Sterling hooked in a fourth at Villa Park to ensure Sergio Aguero and David Silva were never needed from the bench.
The same applied to Garde’s hosts. “Villa is a tough team, on a tough pitch in a tough stadium”.
This was not the position Aston Villa looked to be in heading into halftime, however this was exactly where Manchester City wanted to be. Only three minutes gone and 1-0 down.
But Villa’s respite from suffering was swiftly ended here as City clinically put them to the sword.
If that was the worst possible start for Villa, the situation nosedived further in the 24th minute.
Referee Mike Jones instantly pointed to the spot after ruling Bacuna had fouled Sterling as he attempted to get on the end of Jesus Navas’ cross. He did book Bacuna, along with Sterling, after a minor spat between the pair a couple of minutes later.
City took only 196 seconds to draw first blood.
Even with a full quota, there was no stopping City after the break.
For 15 minutes from time Iheanacho completed his hat-trick after running unopposed from just inside the Villa area to slot the ball past Guzan, following a disastrous back pass from Idrissa Gana.
It was intercepted by livewire Iheanacho, who coolly rolled in his third.
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It would be fair to say that not numerous summer signings made by Aston Villa have impressed this season. Sterling twice came close immediately after the restart, being denied by Guzan before heading over, but the game was played at a pre-season pace.
