CONFIRMED
Manchester City’s 100% Premier League record is gone. ESPN and Sky Sports report that Nicolas Jackson scored twice as Aston Villa beat City 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday 24 October 2026. Jackson punished defensive errors either side of Erling Haaland’s equaliser.
What we know
ESPN’s match data tells the story in three timestamps. Jackson scored on 6 minutes, Haaland made it level on 52, and Jackson won it on 60.
The opener came from a gift. Sky Sports reports that Jackson punished a loose touch from Marc Guehi with a smart finish. Six minutes in, City were already chasing.
They found their way back after the break when Haaland headed the equaliser. It lasted eight minutes. ESPN describes Jackson’s winner as a first-time finish that squirmed under Gianluigi Donnarumma. In Sky Sports’ account, that adds up to two goals from two errors, and a striker sharp enough to take advantage of both.
The weight of the result lies in the records it broke. ESPN reports City were chasing an eighth straight league win under Enzo Maresca. Sky Sports confirms this was City’s first Premier League defeat under Maresca and Villa’s first home win in the league this season. ESPN adds that City have now lost at Villa Park in four consecutive seasons.
Maresca did not hide from it. TNT Sports asked whether the two goals were avoidable, and the City manager replied: “Absolutely, both.”
What we don’t know yet
The sources checked were ESPN, Sky Sports and BBC Sport. None of them includes an official statement from either club, so nothing is on record yet about how City plan to respond.
There is also no refereeing angle to unpick. None of those reports flagged a controversial call, and no PGMOL explanation appears in the coverage. For a site that loves a Law of the Game, this one is refreshingly simple. There was no handball debate, no VAR line and no offside argument. Defending decided this match, not the rulebook.
One afternoon can’t tell us whether City’s errors are a blip or a pattern. The numbers below suggest the question is a fair one.
What it means
Start with Villa. ESPN reports the win extends their run to six wins from seven games in all competitions. They finally got their first home league win of the season, and they did it against the team with the perfect record. That is the kind of result that changes the mood around a ground.
Jackson deserves his headlines. Chances against City rarely arrive wrapped in a bow, and when two loose moments came his way, he was ready both times.
For City, the concern is less the loss than the manner of it. BBC Sport’s Shamoon Hafez reported from Villa Park that Donnarumma and Guehi have each made three errors leading to Premier League goals since the start of last season. According to Hafez, only eight players have made more. Those are the goalkeeper and a centre-back, the two positions where a mistake is most likely to end up in the net.
BBC Sport also notes that City’s most recent league clean sheet came in their win at Liverpool two weeks earlier. Since then they have conceded against opponents ranging from Paris St-Germain to Sunderland. The cracks are not new. Villa simply made them count.
What about the title race? One defeat after seven straight league wins does not knock City out of anything. But the aura of a perfect start is gone, and rivals now have a template. Press the back line, wait for the loose touch, and be ready to finish. Maresca’s own two-word verdict suggests he knows exactly where the work starts.
