The hosts made a blistering start, taking the lead after just six minutes and maintaining their advantage until half-time. 

Although the Citizens fought back to equalise through Erling Haaland, Nicolas Jackson struck again to complete his brace, securing Villa's first home league victory of the 2026-27 campaign.

“A fantastic day to share with our supporters in Villa Park,” Emery told the club media.

“We felt that this is our fortress, and the energy the supporters gave us was really fantastic. We played thinking about how we can get better, test ourselves against Manchester City after we were not winning at home in the Premier League.

“Today was a really fantastic day. We changed the day to day from the days we were not winning against Arsenal, Nottingham and Brentford, but today we must feel happy and enjoy the weekend.”

“We are going to rest because we focused on this match and Champions League strongly, working hard. This is the way and the standard we want to set in our ambition,” he continued.

“Today we’re happy with three points against Manchester City, testing with them and the level they have. This is one of the best teams in the Premier League and in Europe and in the world.

“We want to be in this level, facing teams like Manchester City. It’s a very good example of how the players responded: this is the attitude, the way, the hard work.”