Bravery, a noisy crowd and 'real hard graft' is still required to beat Manchester City these days, even when they can't buy a win.

City fell to a sixth defeat in eight Premier League fixtures at Aston Villa on Saturday, and it is now just one win in 12 in all competitions, of which nine games have been losses. Pep Guardiola's side are making awful mistakes, injuries are piling up again and they don't look like scoring.

Each of their winless games have seen them concede at least twice, often without reply, and they have not won any points from losing positions. While Pep Guardiola rightly says the initial priority is to win just one game let alone a title, he will note that the six Premier League defeats now this season are double the total across the whole of last term.

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No side has ever won the Premier League title losing more than six games in a 38-game campaign (Blackburn lost seven in 42 in 1995), leaving zero room for error and plenty of favours from the five teams above them to retain the title that has all-but slipped away from them.

Yet Morgan Rogers, the architect of their latest humbling with an assist and winner, insists the champions remain the best team in the world and dangerous at every opportunity.

"It is still just as difficult to play them, don’t get me wrong. The way they move the ball, the way they shift and the patterns of play, it is still just as hard," the former City graduate said after the game, who called his old side the 'best team in the world'.

"You might not think they are getting the results but it is still 90 minutes of graft, of work, of real hard determination which you need to show or they are going to pick you off, regardless of whether you are in a good vein of form or bad vein of form, they are just quality players.

"We deserve the credit that we delivered and deserved to win. We want it to be difficult for teams to come here. No matter who they are, we want it to be difficult. I think City found it difficult.

"I thought every person did their job to maximum capacity and that's why you beat teams like this. Everyone has to be at it and on it - and we were.

"Bravery was the big one today - just to be brave with the ball and show what we are all about. They are a good pressing team who are good on the ball, we all know that. But we are good on the ball too and we are brave in possession. We want to play football the same way that they do. Why can't we?

"Especially in the second half there were times when we dominated them and imposed ourselves on them. We felt on top and they couldn't get out.

"It might not look like it from the outside. But when you are in it - and you have 11 men on the pitch and you feel that togetherness and know you're all in it together - that speaks volumes.

"It helps us push on and compete and get the better of our opponent. We felt that, especially in the second half, when we were on top. We felt that energy and more importantly the crowd felt it too. That was the most important thing and why we got over the line to win the game."

Having masterminded City's latest defeat, then unpicked how Villa exploited their weaknesses, Rogers might have ended his old employers' unlikely title chances before offering the faintest glimmer of hope at the same time.