Jackson Double Ends City Perfect Run as Villa Win 2-1

Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday to end City's perfect start to the Premier League season, with Nicolas Jackson scoring twice in a Matchday 8 game that turned on two goals in eight second half minutes.

Jackson gave Villa the lead in the 6th minute and scored the winner in the 60th minute. Erling Haaland had brought City level in the 52nd minute with his ninth league goal of the season. City stay top of the table on 21 points despite the defeat, while Villa climb to sixth place on 11 points.

Jackson strikes early

The opening goal came from a City mistake. Defender Marc Guehi took a heavy touch, Villa captain John McGinn pounced on the loose ball and fed Jackson, who slotted his shot into the bottom corner.

Villa held that lead to half time. Johan Manzambi returned after a fitness test, and the home team defended in numbers. City found few clear openings before the break.

Haaland brings City level

Haaland returned to the City starting lineup after a minor ankle knock. He had missed Wednesday's Champions League game against Viking FK, and he marked his return with the equaliser seven minutes after half time.

Iliman Ndiaye clipped in a cross from a free kick and Haaland headed it home. NBC Sports described the goal as a league best ninth of the season for the striker.

City manager Enzo Maresca said his side had done enough to take more from the game. "Even for us it was a good game, performance. Unfortunately we lost but overall we did enough to deserve something more," Maresca said.

Jackson settles it on the hour

Villa answered eight minutes later. Substitute Ibrahim Mbaye surged down the right and cut the ball back for Jackson, his Senegal teammate. Jackson's shot sneaked under the dive of City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to restore the home lead.

City pushed on, but a string of saves from Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki helped seal the home victory. Defender Ruben Dias summed up a frustrating afternoon for the visitors. "Frustrating for us, obviously everybody fought a lot. The first 10-15 minutes, I am not sure. We fought, we fought. We created a lot of chances and we had a lot of momentum and they ended up scoring in transitions, they were very efficient," Dias said. "It was not our day but we keep going forward."

Sky Sports lists the scorers as Jackson in the 6th and 60th minutes for Villa and Haaland in the 52nd minute for City, with a final score of Aston Villa 2, Manchester City 1.

What the result means

City remain top of the Premier League with 21 points, and Arsenal can draw level later on Saturday when they host Everton. For Villa, this was a first league victory at Villa Park this season and a third successive league win over Manchester City.

NBC Sports reports that Villa have three wins and a draw since starting the season with no wins, one draw and three losses, and that they are also perfect in the Champions League. They finish Matchday 8 within sight of the Champions League places on 11 points, 10 points behind City.