Man City 1-2 Aston Villa: Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and John Stones bid farewell during final-day defeat to Villa
Report and free match highlights as Manchester City bid farewell to legendary manager Pep Guardiola, as well as club captain Bernardo Silva and John Stones; Ollie Watkins scored twice in the second half to ensure Villa finished fourth in the table - City were already guaranteed second
Sunday 24 May 2026 19:48, UK
Having waved goodbye to any slim chance of beating Arsenal to the Premier League title on Tuesday, Manchester City finished the week by bidding an emotional farewell to manager Pep Guardiola, who signed off his 10-year stint with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
You would be forgiven for expecting a slightly subdued mood at the Etihad given City had lost the title race and their once-in-a-generation leader all in the space of a few days. But Guardiola was not leaving without the send-off he deserved.
Manchester, a city the Spaniard loves and respects for its grafting roots, would not let him.
- As it happened | Teams | Stats
- Final Premier League table | Top scorers | Watch FREE PL highlights
- Premier League 26/27 dates - when are fixtures released?
- Window opens June 15 - follow Transfer Centre LIVE!
- World Cup match schedule and kick-off times
- Got Sky? Watch LIVE sport on your phone📱
The Etihad was heartened by the presence of Guardiola on the touchline for one final time. He indulged in the festivities with plenty of smiles and waves, and even tears, albeit he chose not to celebrate Antoine Semenyo's opener in the 23rd minute, scored from a scrappy set-play.
Hardly vintage Pep-ball.
But the second half offered more by way of class and quality, predominantly from spoilers Villa. After looking uninterested before the interval, Unai Emery's Europa League winners sparked into life to score twice in 14 minutes and turn the game on its head.
Ollie Watkins netted both, the second a particularly impressive feat of skill and composure, rounding off a superb week for the World Cup-bound striker, who took his Premier League goal tally to 16.
Pep's parade might have been muted, with the 'oles' coming from the away end rather than the record-breaking home crowd, but the locals got what they came for, the scoreline almost immaterial.
The afternoon included touching tributes to club legends Bernardo Silva and John Stones on their final appearances for the club. In truth, such poignancy rather overtook the football. City failed to land a single shot on target in the second period, while Villa generated five and still missed two big chances to press home their advantage.
Phil Foden did have the ball in the back of the net only to be denied by VAR late on - the defeat marking only the 53rd time Guardiola has lost a Premier League game across an entire decade. A quite astonishing record for a truly remarkable manager.
He will be missed as much by Mancunians as he will by English football for his incredible impact.
Pep: Why do you love me so much?
Pep Guardiola addressed the Etihad crowd for the final time after game, tears in his eyes, his T-shirt stained with emotion from earlier.
He was interrupted several times with a chorus of '10 more years Guardiola'. Flares and fireworks followed, before a lap of honour that 60,000 fans stayed to witness in person.
"I'm so nervous and terrified right now," he said.
"Why do you love me so much?
"I never could imagine the amount of love. It has been an incredible, tremendous honour to be your manager and to be here during these 10 years.
"Hopefully, through these unbelievable players, we provided emotions that made people come here and feel maybe we are going to have fun. That is the reason why we are here.
"Every decision I took, even with all the mistakes, I always thought about what was best for this club.
"I love you so much.
"And let me finish with what I wanted to say a few days ago, that they didn't allow me to say…
"It has been f******* fun."
Story of the match in stats
What's next?
Already thinking about the 2026/27 Premier League season?
There's a World Cup to fit in first - follow live blogs of every game on the Sky Sports App - but the key dates are locked in for next term, when Sky Sports will once again show at least 215 live Premier League games.
Here's your summer diary:
June 11: World Cup starts - day-by-day fixture list
June 14: Scotland's opener vs Haiti (2am)
June 15: Summer transfer window opens
June 17: England's opener vs Croatia (9pm)
June 19: Premier League fixtures released (10am)
July 19: World Cup final
August 22-23: Premier League opening weekend
August 27: Champions League league phase draw
September 1: Transfer Deadline Day (window closes at 11pm UK time)
September 8-10: Champions League matchday 1
May 30, 2027: Premier League final day
