Manchester City suffered their first loss since August, falling 1-0 to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday. The defeat ended City's nine-match unbeaten run across all competitions and their three-game Premier League winning streak. Matty Cash’s first-half strike was the difference, securing Aston Villa their fourth consecutive league win.
The decisive goal came in the 19th minute from a set-piece routine. Following an Emiliano Buendía corner, Cash controlled the ball just outside the box and fired a low left-footed shot into the bottom right corner past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Despite losing Buendía to injury soon after, Villa's organized defense, spearheaded by Ezri Konsa and Amadou Onana, managed to stifle City's attack.
City’s best chances were denied by Villa keeper Emiliano Martínez. Erling Haaland, who had scored in his last 12 matches for club and country, had three clear opportunities but was unable to convert. The Norwegian striker's earliest chance was easily smothered by Martínez after a through ball, and his second-half header was collected by the keeper. Haaland did find the net in the 89th minute, but the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build-up.
Manager Pep Guardiola admitted his side's defensive and pressing woes were key to the defeat. “In the first half the pressing wasn’t good, in the second half it was better,” he told the press. Captain Bernardo Silva was also critical, saying the team's pressing was "really bad" and players were "two seconds late to every duel."
The loss sees City fall six points behind leader Arsenal in the Premier League standings and drop to fourth place. Aston Villa, meanwhile, continues their upward trajectory under Unai Emery, rising to seventh in the table. City, whose third loss this season is their third in their last three visits to Villa Park, will have to address their inconsistency as they face Swansea City in the League Cup on Wednesday, before Villa travels to Liverpool on Saturday.
