Aston Villa piled further misery on Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
Goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers secured victory for Unai Emery, and left Manchester City sixth in the Premier League – following a dreadful run of just one win in 12 games across all competitions.
In truth, the scoreline could have been even worse for the Citizens but for Stefan Ortega, who managed to claw a header from Pau Torres away just before the ball fully crossed the line.
The aforementioned Rogers – who Manchester City sold in 2023 – unsurprisingly received most of the praise for his excellent display, but Pep Guardiola actually singled out another Aston Villa player who helped the attacking midfielder shine in Boubacar Kamara.
Pep Guardiola hails Boubacar Kamara
Speaking after the 2-1 defeat, Guardiola said: “Congratulations to Aston Villa on a well deserved result.
“They changed the pressing in the second half. We could not drop them. Kamara filled the pockets really well, with the transitions with Morgan.”
Pep Guardiola: "Congratulations to Aston Villa on a well-deserved result.
"They changed the pressing in the second half. We could not drop them. Kamara filled the pockets really well, with the transitions with Morgan." #AVFC
— Jacob Tanswell (@J_Tanswell) December 21, 2024
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The France international tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United back in February, which ruled him out until October.
Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City was just his fifth Premier League start of the season, although nobody would have believed Kamara had just recovered from a serious knee injury given how impressively he performed.
SofaScore shows that the Frenchman registered a pass success rate of 91% – completing 53 of his attempted 58 passes – while also winning a huge six tackles against the Citizens.
It was a masterful midfield display from the Aston Villa No.44 – who now looks to have formed a rock solid partnership with Amadou Onana in the centre of the pitch.
Manchester City could try to take Boubacar Kamara from Aston Villa
A story from the Express back in April 2020 claimed that Manchester City were exploring a £28m deal to sign Kamara from Marseille.
Boubacar Kamara of Aston Villa gestures during the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City FC at Villa Park on December 21,...
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Eventually, the 25-year-old’s contract expired and Aston Villa pounced to sign him on a free transfer in May 2022.
However, that story from the Express suggested Guardiola was a big fan of Kamara, and after losing Rodri to a serious injury, we believe a January move could be explored.
Manchester City like Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace – and are also looking at Real Sociedad No.4 Martin Zubimendi – so it seems a new midfielder is certainly on the wishlist at the Etihad Stadium.
Given Manchester City’s past admiration for Kamara, coupled with his outstanding display against them on Saturday, it would not surprise us one bit if this interest was reignited in January.
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