Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park as Nicolas Jackson scores twice

Aston Villa defeated Manchester City 2-1 at Villa Park in a Premier League Matchday 8 fixture on October 24, 2026, with Nicolas Jackson scoring twice and Erling Haaland replying for City.

Villa opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Marc Guehi’s defensive error allowed John McGinn to set up Nicolas Jackson, who beat Gianluigi Donnarumma. Manchester City pressed but could not break through in the first half; Erling Haaland equalised in the 52nd minute with a header from Iliman Ndiaye’s cross and Jackson restored Villa’s lead in the 60th minute from a cross by substitute Ibrahim Mbaye, a strike that proved to be the match-winner for Unai Emery’s side.

Marc Guehi was used on the right of Ruben Dias rather than his preferred left and his positioning contributed directly to Villa’s opener when he lost possession to John McGinn. Guehi’s problems continued as he brought down Jackson in a dangerous area and received a booking. Gary Neville criticised Guehi on television, saying: “Honestly he’s absolutely not a player with the quality to play for Manchester City, he makes it clear IN every game that he’s involved in will be full of mistakes, looking at the over kick that he… pic.twitter.com/OuEr5LerTl”

Gianluigi Donnarumma also had a difficult afternoon, conceding to Jackson’s relatively central finish for the opener. Villa’s recruitment of Jackson for £47.5 million was questioned at the time after the striker’s difficult spells at Chelsea and Bayern Munich, but he has produced goals for Emery this season. Jackson’s second, scored in the 60th minute, was his seventh across all competitions and made him Aston Villa’s top scorer this term.

Jackson’s recent scoring run was noted in social media coverage: "Nicolas Jackson has scored 6 goals in the last 6 games for Aston Villa. 💜💙🔥⚽️ vs. Tottenham ⚽️ vs. Brentford⚽️⚽️ vs. Fenerbahce❌ vs. Newcastle ❌ vs. Viking ⚽️⚽️ vs. Man City pic.twitter.com/Z1RacTlq2m" The striker’s off-the-ball movement was credited with creating space for team-mates such as McGinn and Johan Manzambi.

Iliman Ndiaye, who "since his high-profile move from Everton, Iliman Ndiaye has yet to open his account for Man City," came close on several occasions and provided the assist for Haaland’s equaliser with a cross from the right. Ndiaye had a 20-yard effort brilliantly saved by Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and later struck the outside of the post, but he did deliver the service for Haaland’s header.

Before his 52nd-minute goal Haaland had limited influence, but his header beat Suzuki and was recorded as his ninth league goal of the season, keeping him at the top of the Premier League Golden Boot race. Manchester City’s midfield balance was also questioned after the match, with criticism of Enzo Maresca’s use of Rayan Cherki and Enzo Fernandez together in the UEFA Champions League 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and similar concerns noted here; Fernandez was described as pushing up while Cherki rarely tracked back, increasing the workload on Elliot Anderson.

Ibrahim Mbaye’s introduction and his cross for Jackson’s 60th-minute strike provided the decisive moment as Aston Villa held on at Villa Park to secure a 2-1 victory over Manchester City on October 24, 2026.