Manchester City’s perfect start to the Premier League season came crashing down at Villa Park on Saturday. Nicolas Jackson’s brilliant brace fired Aston Villa to a 2-1 victory over Enzo Maresca’s side — and left one City player facing awkward questions of his own.
Jackson struck inside six minutes, pouncing after John McGinn capitalised on a loose touch from Marc Guéhi to send Villa Park into raptures.
Erling Haaland, City’s talisman and the Premier League’s top scorer this season, restored parity seven minutes into the second half, nodding home from an Iliman Ndiaye cross.
But Jackson had the final word just eight minutes later, latching onto a ball from substitute Ibrahim Mbaye to slot home his second and seal a fourth win at Villa Park in as many seasons against City.
City remain top of the table on goal difference, but Unai Emery’s resurgent Villa moved up to sixth with a result that extended their outstanding run to six wins in seven games across all competitions.
Fernandez under fire over penalty appeal
The afternoon’s drama was not confined to the scoreline. As City searched for a second goal, Enzo Fernández went down inside the penalty area under a challenge from Joao Gomes, sparking furious appeals that referee Peter Bankes waved away.
It was one of several flashpoints at Villa Park, with both Johan Manzambi and Ndiaye also left frustrated by separate penalty shouts that went unawarded.
Former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett was unconvinced by Fernández’s effort, telling Football Insider that the Villa officials were right to let the game continue.
Reviewing the footage, Hackett all but dismissed the midfielder’s claims, scoring the attempt a “nine out of 10” for theatrics rather than genuine contact.
“There is absolutely no force in that push, and I go back to that original point that I’ve made in the past,” Hackett said.
“A push usually starts with the bent arm and the arm straightening, and that gives it a degree of force. What you’ve got here is the hands sticking out.
“There’s no real force in that to warrant the player going down the way that he is. So he’s not getting it from me. The referee’s probably having a word in his ear to say, ‘That’s a nine out of 10 for diving and nothing else’.
“I think this brings up this whole scenario, doesn’t it, about how you coach the referees in order to be consistent on these challenges.”
Bankes largely vindicated despite card controversy
For all the noise around Fernández’s appeal, Hackett’s assessment suggests Bankes had a largely sound afternoon when it came to the game’s biggest flashpoints, correctly waving away all three penalty shouts. These include Manzambi’s coming under challenge from Elliot Anderson and Ndiaye’s against Ian Maatsen.
The official was less convincing elsewhere, however. Guéhi was shown a yellow card in the first half following a challenge on Jackson that he appeared to win fairly, before being substituted at the break.
Matty Cash was similarly booked after an accidental coming-together with Jérémy Doku in the 55th minute, a decision many felt could have been settled with nothing more than a free-kick.
