Nicolas Jackson scored twice for Aston Villa to bring an end to Manchester City’s perfect winning start to the Premier League season.
City had collected maximum points from their opening seven league fixtures, but Enzo Maresca’s side suffered their first defeat at the hands of a Villa team with an outstanding recent record against them.
This win was Villa’s fifth in their last seven encounters with City, their fourth in a row against them at Villa Park, and it arrived on the fourth anniversary of Unai Emery’s appointment as Villa manager.
Villa captain John McGinn seized on a poor touch from City defender Marc Guehi to play to Jackson, who cut inside Elliot Anderson and lifted a finish high into the net beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma to open the scoring for the hosts.
Iliman Ndiaye struck the post as the visitors pushed for an equalizer, which duly came early in the second half when Erling Haaland rose highest to head in Ndiaye’s cross from the right.
Parity, though, lasted just eight minutes, as Jackson met substitute Ibrahim Mbaye’s low cross with a first-time strike that beat Donnarumma beneath his left hand.
Ian Maatsen cleared another goalbound Haaland header to safety as Villa secured their first home league victory of the season.
Man City’s advantage at the top of the Premier League remains three points, with second-placed Arsenal hosting Everton at 15:00 BST, while Villa has moved into the top half of the table.
