Jackson double lifts Villa over Man City 2-1

Nicolas Jackson scored twice as Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday, ending City’s perfect start to the Premier League season under new manager Enzo Maresca.

Jackson put Villa ahead in the sixth minute after City defender Marc Guehi took a heavy touch, according to Al Jazeera and Yahoo Sports. Erling Haaland levelled in the 52nd minute, heading in a cross from Iliman Ndiaye.

Jackson restored the lead in the 60th minute, finishing a Villa attack that began with a pass from Ibrahim Mbaye, Al Jazeera reported. It was his second goal of the match.

Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki made several important saves to protect the lead. He tipped a drive from Josko Gvardiol onto the crossbar, and Ndiaye hit the post for Villa in the first half. Late in the match, Ian Maatsen blocked a Haaland header as City pushed for an equalizer, Yahoo Sports reported.

Maresca’s City had won their first seven league games at a new club, a record for a manager, according to Al Jazeera. The defeat was City’s first of the Premier League season. They have now lost their past four league visits to Villa Park.

The result lifted Villa to sixth in the table. Unai Emery’s side has won six of its past seven matches in all competitions, Al Jazeera said.

City’s loss also gave the chasing pack a chance to close in on the league leaders. Arsenal sit top of the table and host Everton later on Saturday. A City equalizer would have been needed to keep Arsenal from moving level on points, Al Jazeera reported.

Villa’s league win comes days after a strong start to its Champions League campaign. As Villa beat Viking 3-1 for a third straight win on Wednesday, the club moved to second in the 36-team league-phase table with nine points. Jackson started that match alongside John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia, according to the lineups published by UEFA.

Villa’s next European test is at Barcelona on Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. ET (1 p.m. MT). Champions League matches are streamed in Canada on DAZN, which holds the competition’s Canadian rights through the 2026-27 season.

Elsewhere in European football this week, PSG scored twice late to beat Barcelona 4-2 in the Champions League, a result that also shapes the race for the top eight places in the league phase.

Via Al Jazeera and Yahoo Sports.

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