Aston Villa 2-1 Man City

Aston Villa claimed a fourth successive victory in Saturday’s early kick-off at Villa Park, defeating Premier League leaders Manchester City 2-1.

Nicolas Jackson’s brilliant brace in B6 – either side of Erling Haaland’s equaliser – marked a perfect way for Unai Emery to celebrate the four-year anniversary of his appointment as Villa manager.

The Villans’ maiden home league victory of the campaign saw them become the first team to take points from the Cityzens this season, while stretching their unbeaten run to seven matches in all competitions and recording three consecutive league wins against City for first time since September 1966.

Four years to the day of his appointment as Villa boss, Emery named four changes to the side which beat Viking in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday – with Ian Maatsen and Johan Manzambi returning from injury and Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash restored to the 11.

And, despite having a day less to prepare, the Villans burst out of the blocks, looking fresher and sharper than Enzo Maresca’s side in the early stages, with both Maatsen and Alysson having early efforts at goal.

Just six minutes in, Villa hit the front. John McGinn pounced on a loose touch from Marc Guéhi, feeding Jackson who did the rest. The Senegalese forward cut inside of Elliot Anderson and fired high into the roof of the net beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his side an early lead with his sixth goal in claret and blue.

The visitors, however, were immediately on the offensive, looking for an instant response. A strong hand was required from Zion Suzuki just before the quarter-hour mark to claw out a curling effort from Iliman Ndiaye, as the hosts looked to regain the control with which they had begun the encounter.

Emery’s men were threatening on the break, with Jackson a constant menace. With 19 minutes on the clock, he squared Josko Gvardiol up in a one-on-one, shifting the ball onto his right foot but dragging his shot wide of the far post.

But City were giving as much as they got, and minutes later, Suzuki was on hand with brilliant reflexes once more to deny Rayan Cherki – after Jérémy Doku had got the better of Alysson and found the Frenchman inside the area – before holding Abdukodir Khusanov’s long-range effort shortly after.

Just before the half-hour, City were in again, Ndiaye coming within inches of dragging his side level when again cutting inside and looking for the far corner, his effort instead clipping the foot of the post and bouncing behind.

But the Villans kept coming, and with the break approaching, were doing well to contain the threats of Maresca’s men while steadily searching for a second. Five minutes before half-time, Alysson jinked inside between two defenders and got a shot off, though Donnarumma was equal to it to ensure his side remained just a goal down at the interval.

Maresca introduced Phil Foden and Rico Lewis from the bench as City went in search of a second-half response and, within seven minutes of the restart, the visitors had their equalising goal.

A free-kick was played short to Ndiaye who stood a ball up to the back post where Haaland lurked, and the Premier League top scorer made no mistake in nodding beyond Suzuki to restore parity.

Confidence and momentum was firmly with the Cityzens by this stage, and four minutes after pulling level, they were inches away from completing the turnaround, when Gvardiol lashed a half-volley goalwards, forcing Suzuki to tip onto the crossbar, before Doku bent an effort narrowly wide of the far post moments later.

But just before the hour, Emery made his first change of the afternoon, as Ibrahim Mbaye replaced Alysson, and the winger needed less than two minutes to make his impact felt, crossing for his compatriot Jackson who steered a sublime first-time finish through Donnarumma and in to restore the hosts’ advantage.

Again, City came forward in search of a second response, with Villa required to compose themselves in order to see out the closing stages. Ross Barkley and Emi Buendía were introduced, with the latter’s mishit in the home area allowing Gvardiol to get a shot off, which Suzuki did well to keep out.

Brian Madjo and Leon Goretzka entered the action for the final 10 minutes – the former making his Premier League debut – as Emery looked to hand his opposite number a first league defeat of the campaign.

And the hosts defended admirably in the closing stages to cling onto their three points, Maatsen clearing Haaland’s header off the line with a minute of normal time remaining, as Emery’s men enjoyed another memorable afternoon at their B6 home.

The Villans now look to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening when travelling to Bournemouth, before returning to league action at Villa Park next Saturday against Fulham.