Manchester City’s perfect Premier League record was extinguished on Saturday as they were beaten 2–1 by Aston Villa following a Nicolas Jackson brace.

The guilty verdict continues to loom over the Cityzens, repeatedly throwing into question what their Premier League matches really mean until a punishment is laid out, but they had little time for existential thoughts after falling behind to Jackson’s terrific opener in just the sixth minute.

City responded impressively at Villa Park, albeit without being able to find an equalizer before the break. They frequently forced Zion Suzuki into athletic saves either side of two half-hearted penalty appeals, and Iliman Ndiaye came closest when his wicked strike crashed off the outside of the post.

The visitors continued to pile on pressure after the restart and were swiftly rewarded when Erling Haaland’s towering header brought them level. But their joy was short-lived as Villa retook the lead when Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to rebuff Jackson’s fizzing drive.

Despite huffing and puffing for an equalizer to preserve their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign, City ultimately came up short against a resilient Villa rearguard—and that leaves the door ajar for title rivals Arsenal to move level on points with them at the summit.

Winners and Losers

Winner

While not City’s sleekest display of the current campaign, there were some encouraging individual showings worthy of praise. Iliman Ndiaye is one of those who stood out, taking advantage of Villa’s willingness to funnel the ball into wide areas when defending.

The summer recruit’s quick feet and explosive acceleration was City’s greatest outlet, so it was little surprise to see their equalizer stem from his creativity. An inch-perfect delivery into the penalty area found the grateful head of Haaland.

There were other moments of invention from Ndiaye, who enjoyed darting inside and taking aim. One of those efforts thwacked the woodwork, while another was impressively saved by Suzuki.

Losers

It’s been a tumultuous period for Marc Guéhi since City’s guilty verdict. Whether the ruling has had any genuine influence on his performances is unclear, but he’s been making errors for club and country regardless. After a disastrous mistake for England in its 3–2 defeat to Spain in late September, the center back gifted Jackson his opener at Villa Park almost exactly a month later.

An extremely poor touch from Enzo Fernández’s lofted pass across the defense ricocheted into the path of John McGinn, who in turn found Jackson. The finish was instinctive and clinical, but there would have been no such opportunity without Guéhi’s costly blunder—one of many instances where City, and Guéhi more specifically, struggled to handle the ex-Chelsea forward.

As Villa’s goalkeeper Suzuki continually proved his worth with some fantastic saves, Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to match the quality of his opposite number.

The Italian was undoubtedly at fault for Jackson’s second goal. Sure, the shot was struck with ferocity, but it was incredibly central when squirming beneath Donnarumma’s body. Not for the first time, the City stopper finds himself under the microscope.

Man City Player Ratings vs. Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—3.9: Absolutely had to save from Jackson on the hour. Simply not good enough from a supposedly elite goalkeeper.

RB: Abdukodir Khusanov—8.1: Shifted into central defense after halftime following an entertaining battle up against the eye-catching Johan Manzambi. Proved an upgrade on Guéhi.

CB: Marc Guéhi—5.2: Moved to the right side of defense by Enzo Maresca, which seemed to rattle him. Consistently struggled in battles with the lively Jackson, alongside making the mistake which offered Villa their early lead. Withdrawn at halftime, too.

CB: Rúben Dias—6.2: One absolutely vital intervention denied an almost certain goal during the first half, but, like his teammates, he sometimes found life hard against Villa’s direct forwards.

LB: Joško Gvardiol—7.3: Caused issues by Alysson, who was desperate to dribble at every opportunity, but at least provided some serious attacking threat. Gvardiol would have been among the goals had it not been for several fantastic saves from Suzuki.

CM: Elliot Anderson—7.8: Such an impressive general in midfield, eating up ground and recovering possession with ease. Worth every penny of his $154 million fee—well, when it comes to modern transfer fees, at least.

CM: Enzo Fernández—6.4: Worryingly ineffective in both halves of the field. The match passed by Fernández.

RW: Iliman Ndiaye—7.4: City’s brightest attacking spark throughout, wreaking havoc when cutting inside on his left foot and eventually teeing up Haaland’s leveler.

AM: Rayan Cherki—6.6: Following his stellar midweek showing against AEK Athens, this was a much tamer showing from Cherki, who was sacrificed at halftime while already on a yellow card.

LW: Jérémy Doku—7.2: Kept under wraps by Matty Cash, who handled the turbo-charged Belgian without too many issues.

ST: Erling Haaland—7.5: Completely isolated for the most part—managing just eight touches in the first half—but that’s all part of the script. Headed home the equalizer, which was one of few chances that came his way.

SUB: Rico Lewis (46’ for Guéhi)—6.2: Far less effective than during the thrashing of AEK Athens.

SUB: Phil Foden (46’ for Cherki)—6.3: City really needed some magical moments from Foden, but they were left disappointed.

SUB: Ryan McAidoo (69’ for Ndiaye)—6.5: Direct and brave in possession, even if he lacked end product.

Subs not used: Gerónimo Rulli (GK), Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Vitor Reis, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Mateo Kovačić.

What the Ratings Tell Us

• At his best, Rayan Cherki is undeniably among the most enjoyable players to watch in world soccer. But this wasn’t it, with the Frenchman failing to make any notable impact as he regularly found himself crowded out by claret shirts around the Villa box. A cynical yellow card sealed his fate at the break, with Maresca turning to midweek hat-trick hero Phil Foden.
• Cherki was not the only City player who shrunk. Enzo Fernández made zero impact on proceedings as part of the double pivot, both with his defensive actions and offensive support, while Jérémy Doku regularly failed to overpower Cash as he was kept surprisingly quiet.

The Numbers That Explain Man City’s Frustrating Loss

• Rather inexplicably, City were unable to find the back of the net during a first half in which they had 29 touches in the opposition penalty area—the most of any team in the first 45 minutes of a Premier League match this term.
• While City did eventually find the back of the net, they will be frustrated not to have scored more. They finished the match having created four big chances and had seven shots on target.
• The Manchester giants have now lost their last four trips to Villa Park, failing to win at the venue since a 2–1 victory in December 2021.