Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 at “Villa Park“ and put an end to the perfect start to the championship for Enzo Maresca's team. Nicholas Jackson scored both goals for the hosts, and Erling Haaland scored for the visitors.
City arrived in Birmingham after seven consecutive victories in the Premier League, but failed to maintain their 100% record. For Aston Villa, this was their first home victory in the championship of the season.
Jackson punishes Manchester City
Nicholas Jackson gave the hosts a lead in the first half. The striker took advantage of a pass from John McGinn and finished the attack with a shot that left Gianluigi Donnarumma no chance.
Manchester City responded after the break. Erling Haaland headed in a cross from the right to bring the game back into the tie.
Aston Villa, however, took the lead again through Jackson. The striker finished off a quick attack after Ibrahim Mbaye passed low to him in the box.
City failed to avoid their first defeat
Maresca started the match with Haaland in the starting line-up, while Phil Foden was left on the bench after his hat-trick against AEK in the Champions League. Aston Villa's starting XI included Matthew Cash, Ian Maatsen, Boubacar Camara and Johan Manzambi.
Before the match, Maresca described the mood in the squad as good, but warned that the team wanted to continue winning:
„We are happy with our start, but we are hungry for more victories.“
This time Manchester City failed to respond after Jackson's second goal. The victory continued Aston Villa's good run, which before the match was without defeat in seven consecutive matches in all competitions.
Sources: bbc.com