The key facts

  • Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2–1, with Nicolas Jackson scoring a brace
  • Maresca became the first coach to win his first 7 Premier League matches in charge of a new club, but the streak has ended
  • Haaland's goal was his 13th in 10 matches this season; Villa climbed to 6th place

The defeat that ended the streak

Manchester City suffered their first league defeat, losing 1–2 away to Aston Villa. This is reported by AFP. Nicolas Jackson scored twice: he opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Marc Guéhi lost the ball and fired high past Gianluigi Donnarumma, and on the 60th minute finished a low move after a cutback from Ibrahim Mbaye — a shot the goalkeeper, in AFP's assessment, should have saved.

How the game unfolded

Erling Haaland equalized on the 52nd minute with a header from a cross by Iliman Ndiaye — his 13th goal in 10 matches this season. Moments later, Dzion Suzuki deflected a powerful strike from Joško Gvardiol onto the crossbar. In the first half, the goalkeeper also dealt with shots from Ndiaye, Ryan Cherki and Abdukodir Khusanov, while Ndiaye hit the post. City head coach Enzo Maresca said after the match that the team 'deserved more' in terms of chances created and lost due to poor finishing. Before this, he had become the first coach to win his first seven Premier League matches in charge of a new club; City have now lost at Villa Park for the fourth consecutive season.

Villa's context and the league picture

For Aston Villa, this was a sixth win in seven matches across all competitions, and the team climbed to sixth place. Unai Emery is in his fourth year at the club and, in the words of defender Matty Cash, quoted by AFP, is a 'tactical genius' who always finds new solutions. Meanwhile, six players from the starting lineup of last year's victorious Europa League final left the club during the transfer window; newcomers Jackson, Suzuki, Mbaye and Johan Manzambi are already making an impact after a slow start to the season. 'A fantastic day to share with our supporters,' Emery said. 'We felt this was our fortress.' City's defeat itself allowed Arsenal, in their evening match against Everton, to draw level on points with the leader. AFP separately notes that the club, appealing the verdict on more than 100 charges of breaching financial rules between 2009 and 2018, has so far not allowed this circumstance to affect results on the pitch.