Aston Villa handed Manchester City their first defeat of the season with a well-deserved 2-1 Premier League win at Villa Park.
The Villans started brightly and took the lead after just six minutes with Nicolas Jackson capitalising on a defensive error. They looked in control and led at half-time, but their lead lasted just seven minutes after the restart.
Erling Haaland hadn’t really been in the game but scored the equaliser with a header, following a nicely-worked set-piece routine. But Jackson put Villa back in front with his second of the game, a shot that should have been saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Villa managed to hold out for the win, their third in the league this season. It also ended Man City’s perfect start to the Premier League season, and Enzo Maresca‘s record-breaking run.
How Emery brought an end to Maresca’s perfect start
Emery’s pressing plan
Unai Emery‘s gameplan for Aston Villa was clear from the off. Whenever Man City had the ball, Villa’s team pressed quickly in a man-to-man system, hoping to catch their visitors out. This was utilised heavily high up the pitch with Man City trying to play the ball out from the back.
It bore fruit within the opening 10 minutes too. Jackson’s opening goal came because John McGinn was close enough to Marc Guehi to capitalise on a loose touch. Guehi hadn’t been helped by a poor pass from Ruben Dias dragging him wide, but those minor errors aren’t often punished. This one was, with McGinn winning the ball and playing in Nicolas Jackson, who had found the space left by Guehi.
Emery’s use of Manzambi was crucial too. The Swiss superstar lined up on the left side of Villa’s attack, but cut inside when Man City had the ball. He formed more of a three alongside the double-pivot to help suffocate the Man City midfield with a lot of success.
As a unit, Aston Villa won possession four times in the attacking third, their joint-most in a single Premier League match this season. But they also made 31 tackles, with only two sides managing more in a single Premier League game. One of those matches (Crystal Palace, 34) was also against Man City. And the other (Tottenham Hotspur, 35), came against Aston Villa themselves.
Delayed attacking focus
Man City got it all wrong in the first half. Whether that was down to Maresca’s plan or the players on the pitch doesn’t matter. It didn’t work.
There has been a lot of talk about how Erling Haaland spends most of his time on the periphery of matches. The Norwegian’s lack of touches is often mentioned and then he’ll score a game-changing goal. He’s averaged a goal every 21.22 touches in the Premier League this season, including against Aston Villa. But in order to get Haaland scoring, Man City need to try to find him.
They weren’t doing that in the first half. When Man City got into dangerous positions to cut the ball back, Rayan Cherki was the target. The ball didn’t always reach the Frenchman, but the one time it did he failed to test Zion Suzuki with a tame shot — despite hitting the target. The wingers were also looking to shoot rather than find Haaland. Iliman Ndiaye had the better chances, two curling efforts, one forcing a save and another hitting the post. It didn’t help that Pau Torres and Victor Lindelof were marshalling the Villa box perfectly.
That all changed at half-time, when Cherki was replaced by Phil Foden. The first time Man City looked to find Haaland after the break, he scored. It came from a free-kick in a dangerous position, passed out wide to Ndiaye. The Senegalese winger sent a cross into the box, which was headed in by Haaland. With his 12th touch of the ball, Haaland had found the back of the net.
Unfortunately for Man City, they didn’t keep to that gameplan. Again when getting into positions for cutbacks or crosses, they didn’t target Haaland. There was a moment midway through the second half when Rico Lewis failed an attempted cutback to a teammate, when Haaland was unmarked wider in the box. A chipped cross to the Norwegian could have caused serious problems, rather than the cutback which was blocked.
Action Jackson
Although Haaland found the net, Jackson was the striker to steal the show. Jackson has been fantastic since finding his feet at Aston Villa, scoring seven goals in 11 games across all competitions. Two of those came against Man City and capped off a brilliant centre-forward’s performance from the Senegalese international.
Man City’s defence couldn’t handle Jackson, who was able to play to his strengths. He relished his battle with Guehi, tasked with following the striker. As an out-ball for Zion Suzuki, Jackson dragged Guehi wide and while he didn’t always retain possession himself, he forced the Man City defence to make decision — often leading to throw-ins for Villa.
Jackson is a willing runner, both when chasing the ball himself and simply by looking to open space for teammates. And his spatial awareness was key in his opening goal, occupying the gap left by Guehi. He still had to show composure to cut onto his right foot and finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma. Later in the first half, Jackson drew a foul and yellow card from Guehi when looking to burst through on goal. It was a move that forced Maresca’s hand, with Guehi subbed off at half-time.
When Man City drew level, Villa relied on Jackson once more. While the second goal was more about Donnarumma’s poor goalkeeping, Jackson did well to pick up the ball in the middle of the pitch before playing it out to Ibrahim Mbaye. The Senegalese striker continued his run into the box and was on hand to shoot first time, through Donnarumma.
During his time on the pitch, on top of his three shots and two goals, Jackson won eight duels and four fouls, and regained possession five times. It was a fine display to silence a manager who had pushed Jackson to one side without much of a chance while at Chelsea.