Smith proud of players as villa go toe to toe with man city

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Smith Proud of Players as Villa Go Toe-to-Toe with Man City

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith was beaming with pride after his team's impressive 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Villa Park. Despite being heavy underdogs, Villa gave a spirited performance, matching the Premier League champions for large periods of the game.

"We're incredibly proud of the players," Smith said in his post-match interview. "We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we've worked hard all week to prepare for it. The players have shown great character and resilience to come out and give a performance like that."

Villa took the lead through a stunning strike from Anwar El Ghazi, but City's quality eventually told as they equalized through a Raheem Sterling goal. The visitors then took the lead through a Kevin De Bruyne penalty, but Villa refused to give up, pushing hard for an equalizer until the final whistle.

"We knew we had to be brave and take the game to them," Smith added. "We didn't want to sit back and invite pressure, so we tried to be positive and create chances. We got our reward with the goal, and even though we didn't get the three points, we can be proud of the way we played."

The result leaves Villa 11th in the Premier League table, while City maintain their lead at the top. Despite the defeat, Smith believes his team's performance will give them a boost for their upcoming games.

"It's a great result for us in terms of our confidence and morale," he said. "We've shown that we can compete with the best teams in the league, and that's something to build on. We'll take the positives from this game and look to take them into our next matches."

Overall, Smith was thrilled with his team's display, and he believes it's a sign of things to come for Villa this season.

"I think this is a turning point for us," he said. "We've had some tough results recently, but this shows that we're capable of competing with anyone. We'll keep working hard and pushing to improve, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for this team."