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Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park, handing City their first defeat of the season. Nicolas Jackson scored both goals, one in the sixth minute and the winner in the 60th, which squirmed under Gianluigi Donnarumma after a run from substitute Ibrahim Mbaye. Erling Haaland pulled one back in the 52nd minute and nearly levelled late on, only for Ian Maatsen to head his effort off the line. City had won their first seven games under Enzo Maresca, so this one stings. The result takes Villa up to 6th on 11 points after Matchweek 8, while City stay top on 21, three clear of Arsenal.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Manchester City have won all seven league games, 21 points from 21, and sit top with a goal difference of plus 15. Villa are mid-table on 8 points after seven games, and have yet to win a league game at Villa Park this season. So this is the unbeaten-ish juggernaut against the side that cannot win at home. Beat City and you instantly become the team everybody in the pub is talking about.
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2Villa have beaten City in each of the last two Premier League meetings, which is exactly the kind of fact a Villa fan will bring up within four seconds of you mentioning City. City have a perfect start to protect, and only Tottenham's famous all-time 100% run is still standing in the way of the record books. Lose here and the perfect record goes, with a lot of noise to match.
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3Player to watch is Erling Haaland (EHR-ling HOW-lund). He has scored in each of City's last six league games and leads the division with eight goals, and he's fit after limping off against Ipswich last weekend, with Enzo Maresca confirming he's fine. If you only learn one name today, make it his. Mention that he scores roughly the way other people breathe.
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4The subplot is Villa's injury list. Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Matteo Ruggeri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all reported out, with Johan Manzambi doubtful after a minor knock, which is a lot of gaps for a side facing the league leaders. City have their own problem: Antoine Semenyo is reported to be out for around eight weeks with a knee issue. Check the team sheets about an hour before kick-off for the final word.
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5The hook is simple. City are chasing a record start under Maresca, and Villa are the team in the way, with recent history on their side. Nobody gets to eight from eight without somebody trying hard to stop it. Kick-off is 12:30 UK time, so you can watch it and still have the rest of Saturday to be smug about it.
Team Talking Points
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1Villa's last game was one of the maddest of the season: they led Manchester United 4-2 at Old Trafford with the clock deep into stoppage time and still only drew 4-4, after United scored twice in added time. It's the kind of result that feels like a defeat even though it technically isn't.
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2Unai Emery walked down the touchline towards the tunnel before the final whistle after a quick handshake with Michael Carrick, and then had to defend it afterwards. He admitted he thought the game was over when United equalised. Mentioning the early exit is a safe bet for a knowing grimace.
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3Villa go into the international break 10th with 13 points from 10 games – three wins, four draws, three defeats. Since beating Manchester City they've failed to beat Bournemouth, Fulham, Barcelona or United and leaked 11 goals in that run. Emery's message is 'keep working on the defending', which is putting it mildly.
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4Emery himself is still focusing on the positives – he points to three wins and three draws in recent matches – but the question being asked around Villa Park is whether the team has stalled after several years of steady progress under him. Ask a Villa fan whether this is a blip or a ceiling and stand well back.
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5The good news: the table is tight. Villa are only five points off fifth-placed Chelsea, so a decent run after the break would change the mood completely. The bad news is that defending a two-goal lead for six minutes is apparently the hard part.
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Top thing to say down the pub
4-2 up at Old Trafford in stoppage time and Emery's already heading for the tunnel – and it still ends 4-4. That one's going to sting all international break.
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Avoid saying
"At least it's a point away at United" – technically true, emotionally inaccurate. Villa fans see it as two points chucked away, and you'll be the only person in the room calling it a good result.
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1City have pulled off a genuinely weird piece of history: they won their first seven league games, then lost the next three. According to Sky Sports, no top-flight team had done that in 122 years. Mention it and a City fan will tell you it's a blip. Their face will tell you they're not entirely sure.
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2The latest defeat was a 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest last Saturday. Former City academy striker Liam Delap scored twice against his old club, which is football's favourite way of being cruel. City now spend the international break six points behind leaders Arsenal.
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3Enzo Maresca is the man in charge now. He was blunt after Forest, saying the first half 'was not good enough' and calling the second and third goals 'copy and paste'. When a manager starts describing goals like a computer error, the defending was probably bad.
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4There's an injury worry too. Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol, two first-choice centre-backs, both went off at half-time at Forest with knocks. Ask a City fan whether the pair will be fit after the break and you'll sound like you've been reading the medical updates.
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5Then there's the elephant in the room. At the end of September an independent commission found City guilty of 114 of the famous 115 Premier League charges over their finances. The club is appealing and nobody knows the punishment yet. Raise it carefully, or better still, let them raise it.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Seven straight wins, then three straight defeats. City have basically done a whole season's mood swings before Bonfire Night.
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Avoid saying
"Just give it to Haaland and they'll be fine." They did give it to Haaland at Forest, and his shot got cleared off the line. City's problem right now is the defending, and any fan will tell you so at length.