Aston Villa beat Man City 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime, with Nicolas Jackson scoring both goals and Erling Haaland's reply not enough for the league leaders.
Jackson strikes twice
Villa made the ideal start. Jackson scored in the sixth minute, set up by John McGinn.
City levelled in the 52nd minute. Haaland scored after a pass from Iliman Ndiaye, and for a while the visitors looked the likelier winners.
Villa restored their lead eight minutes later. Ibrahim Mbaye provided the assist and Jackson scored his second, in the 60th minute. It proved to be the winner.
The match became increasingly bad-tempered after the break. Johan Manzambi and Matty Cash were booked in the 54th and 55th minutes. Brian Madjo followed in the 83rd and Emiliano Buendía in the 90th minute plus five. City had four bookings of their own: Marc Guehi (32), Rayan Cherki (38), Elliot Anderson (74) and Ryan McAidoo (76). That made eight yellow cards in all.
What the numbers say
The statistics point firmly towards City. They had 63% possession to Villa's 37% and took 15 shots to Villa's eight. Seven of those were on target, against two for the hosts. City also won more corners, seven to four.
Villa were far more ruthless. Both of their shots on target were goals, while City needed seven efforts on target to score once. Villa also committed more fouls, 21 to City's 17.
It was a result against the season averages. City score 2.5 goals per game and concede 1.13, while Villa score 1.13 and concede 1.5. City's recent form was strong, too. They had won each of their previous five matches, including 3-0 at Liverpool and 1-0 at Man Utd. Villa's last five had brought two wins, two draws and a defeat.
Villa also continued their record in this fixture. They won four of the previous six meetings, including a 2-1 victory at Man City in May, and this result makes it five wins from the last seven.
What it means in the table
City stay top of the Premier League with 21 points from eight games, having won seven of them. Their goal difference is +11.
Villa move to sixth on 11 points, with three wins from eight and a goal difference of -3. They have now taken points from a side who had won their previous five games.
Villa have collected 18 yellow cards this season, the most of the two sides. City have 13.
MFF's match model had predicted a 2-1 win for City, giving them a 56% chance of victory, with a home win at 23% and a draw at 22%. Jackson's two goals proved it wrong.
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