Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City: Premier League – live

double quotation markAs a team I think we were amazing. We’ve tried to make Villa Park a fortress in the last few years and I think we’ve done that.

[On Unai Emery] He’s just a tactical genius. You have to adapt against top teams and he’s always coming up with new ideas.

[On his tactics against Jeremy Doku] It was an individual decision. I do a lot of work on wingers and how I can stop them. I watched a lot of clips of Doku, and for me the best way was to get tight and be aggressive. You can’t do it all the time, of course, but I thought I did well today. When he turns and faces, he’s one of the best in the world.

[On Zion Suzuki] When he came in, I thought we’d signed a midfielder! Sometimes he shapes to play it to one full-back and then reverse it to the other. I’m like, ‘I’m not ready for this!’ The other thing he does so well is come for crosses, which is a dream for a full-back.

“Just imagine how good Villa might be,” says Eddy Nason, “if they started the season in August rather than mid-September!”

Villa had one point (and one goal) after four Premier League games. Now they have 11 points from eight matches, plus nine from three in the Champions League.

double quotation mark[On his matchwinning performance as a lone striker] It’s my work so I’m very happy to do it. Hopefully I’ll be injury-free and I can keep on doing it.

I know the coach [from Villarreal]. He’s an incredible manager and we have an incredible dressing-room. Hopefully I’ll score many goals for them.

The final whistle brings a mighty roar from the Villa fans, who must be so damn proud of their football team and especially their outstanding manager.

Unai Emery has mastermined a stirring victory against a City team who had won seven out of seven. City contributed fully to a fabulous game, but you’d need a plastic banana to begrudge Villa the three points.

Unai Emery is a boss.

90+5 min Buendia is booked for a foul on Lewis, and there’s a brief bit of nonsense on the touchline involving some of the coaches.

90+4 min Khusanov commits a witless foul on Madjo, allowing Villa to eat up another 30 seconds.

90+2 min Two minutes left for City to save the game. An angled, driven cross from deep on the left is headed towards goal by Haaland and saved comfortably by Suzuki. Torres did well to ensure Haaland couldn’t get a clear header.

90+1 min An overhit cross from the teenager McAidoo gives Villa a goalkick.

90 min Four minutes of added time. Two-hundred and forty seconds.

89 min Foden dances to the byline on the left and lifts a deep cross towards Haaland, whose powerful header is nodded clear by Maatsen in the six-yard box. Suzuki might have had it covered, I’m not sure. But it was excellent defending and Maatsen has improved hugely in the second half.

Moments later, Doku screws a difficult volley well wide.

86 min After an extended spell of City possession, Foden spanks a rising drive from 25 yards that is blocked by Cash.

Right now, City don’t look like scoring. But then nor did Villa at 1-1.

84 min “Win, lose or draw today, I’ll raise a glass of rosé to the best pound for pound manager in the Prem today,” says Mike Daniels. “Unai is the man.”

83 min Within seconds of coming on, Madjo is booked for kicking the ball away. This is his Premier League debut, but I don’t thnk that’s a record – wasn’t Myles Lewis-Skelly booked before making his debut at Manchester City in 2024-25?

82 min: Double substitution Leon Goretzka and Brian Madjo replace Joao Gomes, who was excellent, and Nicolas Jackson, who was quite outstanding.

81 min Lots of City possession, but Villa are keeping them at arm’s length. They were hanging on when Jackson put them 2-1 ahead; since then they’ve been a lot more comfortable.

78 min McAidoo breaks the lines and plays a simple ball to the overlapping Lewis. His cross is wildly overhit and that’s the end of that.

77 min Doku, under pressure from Cash, heads the ball out of play. Doku has had some dangerous moments – he’s too good not to – but overall Cash has played him well.

76 min The first signs of frustration from City, who haven’t put Villa under sustained pressure since going 2-1 behind.

As I type that, McAidoo is booked for a cynical foul on Maatsen.

74 min Anderson leaves one on Joao Gomes and is booked.

72 min McAidoo feeds the underlapping Lewis, whose cutback towards Foden is read and intercepted by Kamara. A quietly brilliant piece of defending.

69 min: Man City substitution Ryan McAidoo replaces Iliman Ndiaye.

Doku’s ball across the area hits a Villa defender and ricochets towards goal. Gvardiol is first to the loose ball but Suzuki flies off his line to smother his shot. Brilliant anticipation from Suzuki.

66 min: Villa substitution Emi Buendia and Ross Barkley on, Johan Manzambi and the outstanding John McGinn off.

65 min Fernandez’s orner is headed back across goal and well wide by Gvardiol.

65 min “I must say, I think not enough is made of the principled stand of Manchester City fans during this whole boosted revenue escapade/debacle,” says Paul Griffin. “Their decision to wave bananas – inflated, artificial and completely implausible – is admirable.”

63 min Nicolas Jackson has given a lone-striker masterclass today.

It’s a mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but Villa worked the ball so well. Jackson turned brilliantly on the halfway line, swept the ball out to Mbaye on the right and got on his bike.

Mbaye ran at a backpedalling defender before arrowing a low pass back towards Jackson on the edge of the area. He swept a first-time shot on the run that went through Donnarumma and into the net.

It was straight at Donnarumma, and a playground goalkeeper would have cleared it nonchalantly with their right foot. But Donnarumma’s goalkeeping instinct kicked in; he tried to save it with his hands, couldn’t contort his body as required and pushed the ball into the net.

Ibrahim Mbaye has made a goal within seconds of coming on!

60 min: Villa substitution Ibrahim Mbaye is on for Alysson.

59 min Doku curls wide from distance after a trademark run infield.

58 min A ferocious clearance from Khusanov hits Manzanbi in a very personal space. He falls over, then rolls off the field in serious pain.

It’s a very cold day, so I feel Manzanbi’s pain, but at least they’re not playing with a Mitre Mouldmaster.

57 min Incidentally, Haaland has now scored 13 goals in his last nine games. And that’s without any hat-tricks.

56 min: Good save by Suzuki! Doku cuts inside from the left and fires an angled pass into the underlapping Gvardiol. He takes the ball in his stride like a seasoned No10 and whacks a rising drive that is pushed over well by Suzuki.

55 min Now Cash is booked for a poor – possibly accidental – tackle on Doku. His studs went into the back of Doku’s foot, probably just below the achilles.

54 min Manzanbi is booked for delaying a City restart. Villa are on the ropes.

A clinical finish from Erling Haaland brings City level. Ndiaye, who has been excellent on the right, beat Manzanbi with a stepover and clipped an inviting cross to the far post. Haaland got up early, ahead of Lindelof, and slammed a downward header into the net from six yards.

50 min A promising City attack ends when Anderson overhits a cross from the De Bruyne Zone. He normally measures his crosses expertly from that position. On this occasion, the ball flies out of play and the home fans whistle with disdain.

48 min That header, by the way, was only Haaland’s ninth touch of the game. It’s the tenth, eleventh and twelfth that Villa will be worried about.

47 min Villa break after an errant pass from Lewis. Eventually Maatsen pings a shot that ricochets behind for a corner. Cash takes, Haaland wins it in the air and City eventually clear.

46 min Back under way. Khusanov has moved infield to centre-back.

Manchester City have brought on Phil Foden and Rico Lewis for Marc Guehi and Rayan Cherki.

I’m looking forward to Older and Calmer, a duet between Jose and Indigo De Souza.

A raw, compelling first half at Villa Park. Nicolas Jackson’s early goal capped a ferocious start from Villa – who had more than 90% of the possession at that stage – and set up a fascinating clash of styles.

City dominated the ball for the rest of the half: the impressive Iliman Ndiaye hit the post and was one of two City players to have penalty appeals turned down. But Villa, with Jackson and John McGinn outstanding, were a constant menace in transition.

In short: cracking game, more please!

45 min One minute of added time. Cherki’s curving pass towards Haaland is cut out by the last defender Lindelof. There was a lot of grass behind Lindelof but Cherki didn’t quite get the pass right.

44 min Ndiaye’s deflected cross is claimed at the second attempt by Suzuki. City’s wide players have been a big threat.

42 min Pound for pound, Unai Emery is the best manager in the world: discuss.

(I don’t know whether I think this, but it’s surely up for discussion. It’s astonishing that he has them playing this well so soon after losing Martinez, Konsa, Digne, Rogers, Tielemans, Rogers, Watkins.)

Alysson moves elegantly into the area from the right, hugging the ball on his left foot. He zig-zags between Dias and another City player and is about to shoot – probably score – when Dias makes a fabulous recovery tackle.

38 min Cherki loses the ball to Manzanbi, pulls him back to stop a Villa break and is booked. Villa have kept Cherki very quiet in his day job.

37 min There’s a cracking atmosphere at Villa Park: constant hostility from the home fans, period defiance from the away end.

Another good run from Doku leads to a City corner. Enzo Fernandez takes, Kamara heads away at the near post.

34 min … and Manzanbi whacks it over the bar. A poor effort by his standards.

33 min The free-kick is just outside the area, slightly to the left of centre…

32 min Guehi is booked for fouling Jackson just outside the area. It was a bit of a wrestling match, and Guehi didn’t think he’d committed the foul. The home fans, by contrast, thought it should have been a Dogso red card. I’m pretty sure there was a covering defender.

With Villa seeing very little of the ball in the last 25 minutes, Nicolas Jackson has been fantastic.

31 min Now City want a penalty when Maatsen, who is really struggling, misses a lunging tackle at Ndiaye, who then goes over. Hard to tell whether he was fouled or whether he slipped. It was clumsy from Maatsen but it’s been cleared by VAR.

31 min “I’ve come late to the MBM and need to warn you not to put ideas into people’s heads,” writes Richard Hirst. “At the rate Man City are collecting points a 50 point deduction would be nowhere near enough to ensure that they finish below Fulham.”

30 min Manzanbi goes over in the area after running into Anderson. The Villa fans want a penalty but the referee isn’t interested; nor are VAR. It looked like Anderson just stood his ground.