Manchester City were beaten in the Premier League for the first time this season as Nicolas Jackson struck twice to secure Aston Villa a 2-1 win at Villa Park.
After an unconvincing opening to the season, Unai Emery’s team extended their revival with a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions. It was also Villa’s first home league success of the campaign.
Villa Park remains an unhappy destination for City, who have now been defeated in each of their past four league visits. Enzo Maresca’s flawless start to league life as City manager also came to an end.
The difficult west Midlands trip began badly for the visitors, with an error by Marc Guehi allowing Jackson to put Villa ahead early on.
Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki produced a series of key stops, while Iliman Ndiaye struck the post, as the hosts defended their advantage through to half-time.
Erling Haaland scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season to draw City level, but Jackson restored Villa’s lead on the hour. His second goal of the match was his fourth of the campaign and proved enough to earn the home side all three points.
Before kick-off, City were again met by boos from opposing supporters following last month’s verdict that found them guilty of serious breaches of the competition’s financial rules.
City had already been placed under pressure after Gianluigi Donnarumma delayed a goal-kick and conceded a corner. Villa capitalised on their fast start, scoring the opening goal in the sixth minute.
