Bailey impressed by Villa’s ‘special night’

BIRMINGHAM, England (CMC):

Reggae Boy Leon Bailey has labelled Aston Villa's 1-0 win over treble winners Manchester City as a "special night" after scoring the decisive goal to extend their English Premier League winning streak at Villa Park to a record-equalling 14 on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old found the net in the 74th minute via a deflection from defender Ruben Diaz, a just reward for Villa, who put the reigning champions under tremendous pressure with 22 shots overall and kept custodian Ederson busy all night.

City mustered only two shots on goal, the defeat seeing them slump to fourth on 30 points as Villa leapfrogged them into third on 32.

"Indeed, a special night. It was more special than I've ever seen it before because, obviously, [it was] Manchester City. We got a great three points," Bailey said

"I've never seen the stadium rocking the way it was here. I can't tell you how grateful and impressed I was on the pitch.

"Obviously, I was the one to score the goal. It was amazing. It was brilliant."

He added: "This is the vibe we want to bring to Villa Park every time we play here. So we just have to be humble and continue working because I think that's the most important thing."

The goal for Bailey was his second in as many outings, following his strike last weekend in a 2-2 draw away to Bournemouth.

All told, the exciting winger has scored eight goals for the campaign, with five coming in the Premiership. Last season, he scored seven goals in 43 appearances.

"Leon Bailey is a good player, and sometimes - what a player," said Villa manager Unai Emery.

"Our challenge with him is to be consistent. He played amazingly. He was fantastic, and we can enjoy it with him."

The win saw Villa equal their record for the most successive home wins dating back 92 years.

They have now lost only once in their last 13 outings, and victory against Arsenal at the weekend will see them equal the club record of 24 Premiership wins in a calendar year.

"We're a good team. We've been building with each other for a very long time now," Bailey said.

"I think we have a good understanding with each other, we have a good coach, we have a good structure, and I think it's been working for us, and obviously tonight was one of those nights where you had to do 10 times more than what you're capable of.

"Obviously, Manchester City are tough opponents. For me, one of the greatest teams in the world, and we're just grateful that we could've come out on top tonight."