Aston Villa 2-1 Man City ended the visitors’ perfect start to the Premier League season as Nicolas Jackson scored twice at Villa Park. Erling Haaland brought City level early in the second half, but Jackson’s second goal restored a lead that Unai Emery’s side protected to the final whistle.
City had won their opening seven league games under Enzo Maresca. This was their first Premier League defeat of the campaign, not their first loss in all competitions, and it came four days after the 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens.
Aston Villa 2-1 Man City: Jackson strikes early
According to BBC Sport’s match report, John McGinn seized on a poor touch from Marc Guehi to release Jackson for the sixth-minute opener. The striker turned inside Elliot Anderson and finished high past Gianluigi Donnarumma, giving Villa an early advantage.
Iliman Ndiaye hit the post as City sought a way back. The visitors had attacking opportunities, but the home side reached the interval with their lead intact.
Maresca had made four changes to the team that started against AEK. Haaland, Guehi, Jeremy Doku and Ndiaye returned, with Phil Foden and Rico Lewis among the substitutes. Antoine Semenyo remained unavailable, as confirmed in City’s official team announcement.
Aston Villa 2-1 Man City: Haaland equaliser is not enough
Foden and Lewis came on for Rayan Cherki and Guehi at half-time. City then found their equaliser in the 52nd minute, when Haaland headed in Ndiaye’s cross from the right.
Parity lasted eight minutes. Villa substitute Ibrahim Mbaye supplied a low cross for Jackson, whose first-time finish went underneath Donnarumma’s left hand. BBC Sport’s report describes the move, while the match event feed also records Jackson’s second goal in the 60th minute.
There was still time for City to threaten another response. Ian Maatsen cleared a goalbound Haaland header, helping Villa hold on for their first home league win of the season.
City’s winning league start stops at seven
The defeat leaves City with 21 points from eight league matches. It also continues a difficult run of visits to Villa Park: BBC Sport records this as Villa’s fourth successive home win against City.
The contrast with the midweek performance is clear. Foden’s hat-trick against AEK was followed by a league afternoon in which Haaland scored but City could not turn their attacking pressure into a result. Maresca’s pre-match discussion of Cherki’s role and the Villa injury update set out the selection questions before the game; this result adds a different problem for the response.
Sources: BBC Sport’s full-time report by Phil Cartwright, 24 October 2026; FotMob match event feed; Manchester City’s official team announcement.
