Boom!
Grealish's shot this time wasn't aimed at the top corner like his first penalty attempt. Instead, he pushed it low toward the far post.
However, the shot lacked power, and the angle wasn't particularly sharp. Most importantly, Claudio Bravo guessed the right direction. He quickly dove to make the save, throwing out a strong right hand to parry the ball away.
"Bravo saves it!" Martin Tyler cried out on the Sky Sports broadcast. "The Manchester City goalkeeper denies Grealish his hat-trick. Grealish fails to convert the second penalty, and the score remains 3-2. Ah, what a pity for Aston Villa. They almost killed the suspense of the match right there."
Tyler's tone was heavy with disappointment after seeing the chance squandered.
On the Sky Sports feed, football fans were equally bewildered by the poor effort.
[???]
[What is Grealish doing?!]
[He can't even score from there? Unbelievable.]
[That shot was so weak.]
[My grandma could have hit it harder than Jack just did.]
[Why try and place it at the far post? Just blast it with power.]
[Should've let Theo take it. Grealish bottled it.]
[A free chance to seal the game and he fluffs it.]
[You have to give credit to Bravo though. He's really strong tonight. No wonder he's City's keeper. Truly amazing.]
After seeing his shot saved by Bravo, Grealish's face contorted in despair.
He looked utterly dejected, hands on his knees.
As a good friend and teammate, Theodore Bjorn was the first to run over and pat him on the shoulder.
"Jack, it's okay," Theodore urged, his voice steady. "We're still in the lead. A solid defense can still secure the victory tonight."
On the touchline, Dean Smith was already frantically shouting tactical instructions to his players.
"Focus on defense! Only ten minutes left! Use tactical fouls to disrupt their passing! Hold the line!"
With only ten minutes left in the match, if the home side could withstand the final onslaught from City, they would secure a historic victory.
The ultimate test of Aston Villa's defensive resolve had arrived.
In the 82nd minute, Kevin De Bruyne drove forward with the ball from deep. Seeing the Belgian maestro advancing, the Villa players naturally wouldn't give him a free run.
In an instant, Theodore and John McGinn rushed to confront him.
But De Bruyne was highly experienced.
He feigned a dead stop, dropping his shoulder, before quickly pushing the ball forward with his right foot.
Using a devastating change of pace, he easily evaded the double-team.
However, Villa's secondary defensive line closed in rapidly.
Conor Hourihane charged straight at De Bruyne with a ferocious sliding tackle, taking down both the man and the ball.
Anthony Taylor immediately blew the whistle and showed Hourihane a yellow card.
De Bruyne lay on the ground, wincing in clear pain.
The City medical team rushed onto the field to examine him. Fortunately, the injury didn't seem serious—just a hard, bruising knock.
Still, seeing De Bruyne go down made Pep Guardiola extremely anxious.
Manchester City was currently competing on three brutal fronts.
As the team's offensive core, any injury to De Bruyne could directly derail City's performance in the crucial matches ahead.
The game continued.
De Bruyne quickly took the resulting free-kick, floating a pass out to Sterling on the left flank.
To be fair, the quality of De Bruyne's long pass was comparable to Theodore's. The ball successfully bypassed several Villa defenders and landed perfectly at Sterling's feet.
This put Sterling inside the penalty area with a one-on-one opportunity against Lovre Kalinić.
Unfortunately for City, Sterling's resulting shot lacked any real power.
It was a weak, scuffed attempt, easily gathered by the Aston Villa goalkeeper.
Three minutes later, Manchester City's attack returned.
However, during this offensive buildup, City still couldn't find a clear opening.
De Bruyne received a pass in the central area, but a second later, he was swarmed by a pack of Villa defenders.
Theodore, McGinn, Jedinak, and Hourihane all closed in around him like a vice.
Not only did they restrict De Bruyne's ability to drive forward, but they also cut off his passing lanes.
The pressing intensity from the four players was fierce, leaving De Bruyne with no room to maneuver. Unsurprisingly, possession was lost.
The player who emerged with the ball at his feet was Theodore.
The moment the teenager intercepted the ball, the entire Villa Park stadium erupted in deafening cheers.
The thirty thousand fans were eagerly anticipating Theodore using his signature long pass to deliver a fatal counter-attacking blow!
But just as Theodore drew his right foot back to launch the pass, De Bruyne slid in fiercely from behind.
He was returning the favor in kind.
The Belgian used a cynical foul to disrupt Aston Villa's counterattack.
Beeeeep!
Referee Anthony Taylor blew his whistle immediately, penalizing De Bruyne for the challenge.
However, Taylor kept his cards in his pocket, which greatly angered the Villa fans.
"What's going on? No card for that?!"
"Anthony Taylor is making outrageous calls again!"
"De Bruyne went straight for the man. That's a textbook yellow."
"Taylor is too scared of City's reputation to book him."
"Theo better not be injured. We need him."
The Villa fans in the Holte End rained down boos, questioning Taylor's leniency.
On the pitch, after the tackle, De Bruyne behaved with genuine sportsmanship.
He immediately crouched down to check on Theodore.
"Bjorn, how are you? Can you continue?" he asked, extending a hand.
"Of course, I'm fine," Theodore replied, taking the offered hand.
"Your passing is excellent," De Bruyne noted, hauling the teenager to his feet. "Very distinctive. I hope we have the chance to collaborate in the future."
Through their midfield battles tonight, De Bruyne had been quite impressed with the footwork and vision Theodore displayed.
He clearly thought highly of the young Norwegian's prospects.
"If given the opportunity, I would seriously consider it, Kevin," Theodore replied respectfully.
The match continued.
Aston Villa had a free-kick in their own half. Theodore didn't try to force a direct, attacking pass.
Instead, he played it short and safe back to McGinn.
With only three minutes left until the 90-minute mark, Aston Villa still leading. Theodore was in no hurry.
His team only needed to maintain the current scoreline to eliminate the Premier League champions.
Although time was ticking down, the trailing Manchester City still possessed the firepower to equalize. Considering the impending stoppage time, there could easily be another ten minutes of play left.
Throughout the second half, Villa had committed numerous tactical fouls, causing the game to be fragmented and disjointed.
Taylor was certain to award a lengthy period of added time.
For a team of City's quality, scoring a goal in ten minutes was entirely plausible.
Moreover, Pep Guardiola still had one substitution available, while Dean Smith hadn't used any of his three.
However, as the clock ticked toward 90, neither manager blinked.
For Dean Smith, the reasoning was simple. The team's strongest players were already on the field.
Having heavily rotated the squad in their previous Championship match, the players currently out there were fit and fully capable of seeing the game out.
They had adapted to the grueling rhythm of the match, and making a rash substitution now might disrupt their delicate defensive balance.
Smith chose to trust the players who got him there.
As for Pep Guardiola, he seemed to have made a calculated decision to cut his losses.
Although his team was only down by one, the physical toll of the match was severe.
Whenever City players advanced into the opponent's half, Villa's players immediately applied ferocious pressure.
Villa's defensive challenges were bordering on overly aggressive, carrying a high risk of injury.
If key players like De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva were to get injured in a desperate scramble for an FA Cup equalizer, it would inevitably handicap City in their upcoming Champions League knockout tie against Tottenham, and potentially derail their Premier League title defense.
In the league standings, City held the top spot, but the gap between them and Liverpool was a razor-thin single point.
The slightest misstep, and Liverpool would overtake them.
To protect their primary ambitions, Guardiola had to sacrifice the FA Cup.
At 89 minutes and 50 seconds, the fourth official raised the electronic board.
Seven minutes.
Anthony Taylor had awarded seven minutes of added time.
But the Manchester City players did not throw the kitchen sink at Aston Villa. They didn't commit their entire team forward in a desperate siege.
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