Nicolas Jackson 60'Erling Haaland 52'
Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday in the Premier League’s eighth round. Nicolas Jackson scored either side of an Erling Haaland equaliser, and referee Peter Bankes showed eight yellow cards, four to each team.
Jackson scores from Villa’s only two shots on target
Jackson needed just 6 minutes to open the scoring, finishing from John McGinn’s assist. Villa led 1-0 at the break. McGinn produced 4 key passes before leaving the pitch after 66 minutes, and his rating of 7.5 was the fourth-best of the match.
City levelled in the 52nd minute when Haaland converted from Iliman Ndiaye’s pass. The parity lasted eight minutes. Ibrahim Mbaye set up Jackson in the 60th minute, and the striker had his second of the afternoon. Jackson played 82 minutes and was rated 8.93, the highest on the pitch.
Suzuki’s six saves frustrate City despite 63% possession
The numbers favoured the visitors almost everywhere. Enzo Maresca’s City had 63% of the ball, completed 488 accurate passes to Villa’s 254 and took 15 shots to 8. They put 7 efforts on target and generated expected goals of 1.81, against 0.64 for the hosts.
Villa were efficient instead. Both of their shots on target went in, while Suzuki made 6 saves at the other end and earned a rating of 7.72. Jérémy Doku was City’s most threatening outlet after Haaland, with 3 shots and 2 key passes.
The game was scrappy at times, with 21 fouls by Villa and 17 by City. Marc Guéhi was booked in the 32nd minute and Rayan Cherki followed in the 38th. Johan Manzambi was cautioned for time wasting in the 54th minute, a minute before Matty Cash went into the book. Elliot Anderson and Ryan McAidoo were booked for City late on, while Brian Madjo saw yellow for dissent and Emiliano Buendía was cautioned in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Neither side saw red.
City level with Arsenal on 21 points after first league loss
City had won their first seven league matches. They are first on 21 points, level with Arsenal and ahead only on goal difference, 11 to 8. Haaland’s goal was his 8th of the league campaign, three clear of João Pedro and Isak at the top of the scoring chart.
Villa are sixth with 11 points from a 3-2-3 record. This was a fourth straight win in all competitions, following a 6-0 rout of Fenerbahçe, a 1-0 win over Newcastle and a 3-1 victory against Viking, and they are unbeaten in six. It was also a third consecutive league win over City, after a 1-0 home victory on 26 October 2025 and a 2-1 success away on 24 May 2026.
Both clubs return in the League Cup on Wednesday 28 October. Villa travel to Bournemouth, while City host Brighton, who sit third in the Premier League on 16 points.
📷 Villa Park: Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
