Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood couldn't fault his players after their 3-2 defeat at Manchester City.

City took the lead after just three minutes when Brad Guzan gave the ball straight to Sergio Aguero.

Sherwood said: "I thought we came here and performed very well even though we had a poor start.

"We stuck to the plan and I thought we dominated possession, especially in the first period. The pleasing thing was we weren't just passing for the sake of it. We actually opened them up a few times and created chances.

"Brad knows he has made a mistake. It is probably not the first mistake he has ever made but he is a good character and he will get over it.

"We went 2-0 down but came back in the game very quickly. We had real belief we could go on and get something out of the game."

There was controversy soon after the Sanchez equaliser when Christian Benteke was tripped by Joe Hart - only for the Villa striker to be ruled marginally offside.

"It was onside," Sherwood said. "It is a penalty and a sending off."