Manchester City’s perfect Premier League start came crashing to an end in a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa, where Nicolas Jackson struck twice to extend Unai Emery’s side’s resurgence.
Enzo Maresca had become the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a new club, but he could not solve City’s persistent problems at Villa Park, where they have now lost for four consecutive seasons.
Jackson fired Villa ahead after just six minutes before the hosts relied on a superb goalkeeping display from Zion Suzuki to keep City at bay. Erling Haaland briefly restored parity early in the second half, only for Jackson to strike again on the hour mark, drilling home Ibrahim Mbaye’s cross to secure a statement victory.
“It’s a fantastic day to share with our supporters at Villa Park,” Emery said. “We felt this is our fortress, and the energy the supporters gave us was really fantastic.”
Four years after his arrival, Emery has transformed Villa from a sleeping giant into a Champions League regular. Now, despite seeing the core of his squad dismantled by departures in recent seasons, the Spaniard is once again demonstrating his tactical ingenuity.
“He’s just a tactical genius,” Villa full-back Maty Cash said of his manager. “He’s always got a new plan for something. He’s always coming up with new ideas.”
Six players who started Villa’s victory in last season’s Europa League final departed during the transfer window. But the arrivals of Jackson, Suzuki, Mbaye and Johan Manzambi are already paying dividends after a sluggish start to the campaign.
City, meanwhile, had managed to keep winning despite the uncertainty surrounding their Premier League future. The 10-time English champions are appealing a guilty verdict on more than 100 charges relating to alleged breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018, with potential sanctions including relegation.
There had been little indication that the uncertainty was affecting Maresca’s side on the pitch, but two costly defensive errors proved decisive at Villa Park.
“I think we deserved more from the game for the amount of chances that we created and for the chances we conceded,” Maresca said. “We lost because we probably are not being clinical enough in their box.”
City’s afternoon unravelled early when a heavy touch from Marc Guehi gifted Jackson possession. The forward cut inside Elliott Anderson before unleashing a powerful finish high past Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Villa the lead.
The visitors dominated much of the remainder of the first half but struggled to turn their pressure into goals. Suzuki produced a string of impressive saves to deny Iliman Ndiaye, Rayan Cherki and Abdukodir Khusanov before Ndiaye struck the post.
City finally found a breakthrough seven minutes after the restart. Haaland powered home a header from Ndiaye’s cross for his 13th goal in 10 appearances this season, briefly raising hopes of another comeback.
Josko Gvardiol came close to completing the turnaround moments later, but Suzuki brilliantly tipped his fierce drive onto the crossbar.
Instead, Villa delivered the decisive blow. Mbaye raced in behind City’s defence and pulled the ball back for Jackson, whose low finish beat Donnarumma. The goalkeeper might have been expected to do better, but Villa had regained the lead and would not surrender it.
City pushed desperately for a second equaliser but could not find a way through, leaving Arsenal with the opportunity to move level on points at the top of the table when they host Everton later on Saturday.
For Villa, a sixth win in seven games across all competitions lifted them to sixth place and offered further evidence that Emery’s revamped side are beginning to find their stride.
