Enzo Maresca blamed two costly mistakes as Manchester City suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season, losing 2-1 to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday. City had won all seven of their league games before travelling to Birmingham, but defensive errors from Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma proved decisive as Nicolas Jackson scored twice for Villa.

Guehi's poor touch in the sixth minute allowed John McGinn to win possession and set up Jackson, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner. City had plenty of the ball and created several chances, but Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki kept them at bay with a string of saves.

Erling Haaland brought City level shortly after half-time, heading home Iliman Ndiaye's cross from a free kick. The Norwegian, who missed Tuesday's 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens with a foot injury, continued his scoring run with his seventh goal in his last seven away league games.

Villa regained the lead on the hour mark after Ibrahim Mbaye broke down the right and cut the ball back for Jackson. The striker's low shot slipped underneath Donnarumma, leaving City chasing the game once again.

City pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Suzuki stood firm. Ian Maatsen also cleared a Haaland header off the line as Villa held on for the win.

MARESCA FRUSTRATED BY DEFENSIVE ERRORS

Maresca felt City had done enough in attack to get a result but admitted that the two goals they conceded were avoidable. "Performance overall was good, amount of chances we created. Absolutely, both goals were avoidable," Maresca said.

"Sometimes you have to be a bit more lucky because we only conceded those two chances. But we created a lot of chances. We played most of the game in their box but you have to be clinical and avoid mistakes like the two goals we conceded."

The defeat leaves City on 21 points at the top of the table, with Arsenal able to draw level if they beat Everton later on Saturday.

Villa moved up to sixth on 11 points after claiming their first home league win of the season. The victory was also their fourth successive home league win over City.

It was a welcome result for Unai Emery after Villa lost three of their first four league games. The manager was pleased with how his side handled the challenge of facing the league leaders.

"Today was a really good test, I was so excited for this test," Emery said. "Today is one step forward."

City must now turn their attention to two games against Brighton and Hove Albion in quick succession. They face Brighton in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday before meeting them again in the Premier League next Saturday.

"A top team, another one," City defender Ruben Dias said. "A different way to play so we'll make the adaptation then focus on ourselves. That's the main thing, our spirit, our will to win."

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