Carlos Sanchez's late leveler sent tremors down the Barclays Premier League table. Manchester City were on the brink of surrendering a 2-0 lead for the third time this season. The thread connecting Manuel Pellegrini to his job began to unravel.
The Chilean's saviour came in the form of a man who, despite being one of City's top performers, has been benched nine times this term. Fernandinho's 89th minute winner clinched an undeserved 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday evening and booked the Blues a luxurious overnight stay in 2nd place.
(Fernandinho secures the points with a late winner - image via Alex Livesy/Getty Images)
But the colourless performance was a crucial reminder of the need for change at the Etihad Stadium. Fernandinho's absence from the side has been just one of Manuel Pellegrini's many failings in a miserable season that has seen City regress dramatically from their trophy-winning feats one year ago and the South American cut a helpless figure on the sidelines once again when goals from Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez threatened to make it just three wins from City's last ten games.
Pellegrini's post-match reflection offered no reassurance that he is the right man to take the club forward.
Whilst his admission that it was "one of our worst games of the season in possession" was true, the blank statement ignored the wider issues that afflicted his ageing squad on Saturday. The 61-year-old has become infamous for his flat press conferences and it's questionable as to whether his seemingly uninspiring personality still has the ability to motivate a dressing room.
After taking the lead after just three minutes through Sergio Agüero, with the help of a comical error from Brad Guzan, Aston Villa targeted the waning limbs of City's elderly midfield and enjoyed 56% of the possession. This was the first time that a side had claimed more of the ball than City at the Etihad Stadium in six-and-a-half years - more damning evidence of the squad's decline. Fernando, 27, Frank Lampard, 36, and Yaya Touré, 31, made up the centre of Pellegrini's midfield that were frazzled by the speed and energy of Fabian Delph, 25, Tom Cleverley, 25, and Jack Grealish, 19, and the Villains were invited to launch a total of 13 efforts towards Joe Hart's goal. Grealish, who has been lauded for his recent performances, could be the sort of homegrown talent Manchester City seek this summer to freshen up their squad.
(Jack Grealish, 19, has emerged as one of the league's most exciting English talents - image via Getty Images)
Aleksandar Kolarov's 66th-minute free-kick forced some life into a spiritless Etihad crowd who could have been forgiven for assuming the points were secured, but the Blues, as they so often have this term, buckled under their own complacency. Joe Hart, who has arguably been City's player of the season, committed two rare errors for Villa's two goals, providing Tim Sherwood with the hope of third win in six games to render his side's progression into the FA Cup final even sweeter.
Fernandinho's late winner proved that miracles do happen, however. The acrobatic volley, scored from a corner, masked one of City's sourest performances of the season and may well have saved Manuel Pellegrini at least another week in his job. La Parisien in France insist that Patrick Vieira will take over as manager this summer, but another blunder this weekend could have seen the Arsenal legend lead the Blues into battle against his former rivals Tottenham Hotspur in eight days time.
(According to reports in France, Patrick Vieira is set to take over from Manuel Pellegrini this summer - image via Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
Manuel Pellegrini's future in Manchester continues to dangle.
