Aston Villa handed Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the season on October 24th as a brace from Nicholas Jackson downed the Blues at Villa Park. Enzo Maresca's men had been in blistering form prior to their trip to the West Midlands, winning all seven of their top-flight games so far this term to open up an early three-point lead at the summit. However, a blunder from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma ultimately ended their perfect start to the campaign.
The Villans had started the brighter of the two sides and deservedly took an early lead when the brilliant Jackson rifled past Donnarumma and into the roof of the net after just six minutes. City would respond well, and they duly found their equalizer seven minutes into the second half as the prolific Erling Haaland nodded past Zion Suzuki. From that moment on, the visitors looked like the only team that would go on and find the winner, but a clanger from their giant Italian goalkeeper would cost them dearly.
Donnarumma Howler Hands Villa Win
Just eight minutes after Haaland's equalizer, Villa broke away through substitute Ibrahim Mbaye, and his ball inside found Jackson on the edge of the area. The Senegalese striker smashed the ball goalwards for the first time, but his strike was straight at Donnarumma. Somehow, though, the former PSG man allowed the ball to squirm underneath him and into the back of the net, handing the Villans the lead once more.
From that moment on, Unai Emery's side managed the remaining half an hour masterfully. City defender Josko Gvardiol was unable to take three gilt-edged chances that fell his way, but other than that, it was a composed display, and ultimately a deserved three points. They climb to sixth in the table, while City's slender three-point advantage over defending champions Arsenal is no more.
Heading into the clash, online betting sites already made City firm second-favorites in the race for the title this term, despite their early lead. The popular Lucky Rebel Sportsbook listed Arsenal as the 1/2 favorites, with City at 7/2, and those prices have since shifted further since Aston Villa's win.
For bettors, this is a crucial point in the season when deciding to bet on Enzo Maresca's Blues. Many would expect the Cityzens to look to immediately bounce back to life and respond by reeling off the wins once again. However, as the last three seasons will show, that surprisingly isn't always the case. Here is how Manchester City responded to their first Premier League defeat in each of their last two seasons.
2025/26: One Quickly Becomes Two
Last season, Manchester City hit the ground running, romping to a 4-0 victory on the opening day of the season away at Wolves courtesy of a brace from Haaland. However, almost immediately, the wheels would quickly come off the bus.
The Blues welcomed perennial bogey-team Tottenham to the Etihad on matchday two, and as they have so often done in recent times, Spurs would spring the shock. New boss Thomas Frank managed to get the very best out of his team, and first-half goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha sealed a 2-0 win. From there, things would go from bad to worse.
City headed to the South Coast to face off with Brighton a week later, and it looked as though they would respond in perfect fashion when Haaland handed them an early lead. Former Blues midfielder James Milner would drag the hosts level from the penalty spot in the 67th minute. Then, in the 89th minute, young attacking midfielder Brajan Gruda handed the Seagulls the win with a stunning strike.
The Blues would bounce back the following week as they thumped rivals Manchester United 3-0 in the derby, but further disappointment was to follow with a 1-1 draw against Arsenal.
2024/25: Defeat Triggers Worst Run of Pep Guardiola's Career
The year before almost defied belief. City went nine games without defeat to begin the 2024/25 season, winning seven of them. It looked for all the world that Pep Guardiola's side was well on course to claim a fifth straight Premier League title. Then, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
City were stunned 2-1 away at Bournemouth to bring their unbeaten start to the campaign to an end. They would then lose again a week later, also on the south coast, this time at Brighton. They returned to the Etihad after that, and old nemesis Tottenham would deliver one of the most shocking results of Guardiola's tenure in charge of the Blues, reeling off a stunning 4-0 win after a brace from James Maddison, plunging City into crisis.
Liverpool would hand City a fourth straight hammer blow shortly after that, with defeats in the League Cup and the Champions League, the latter being a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Ruben Amorim's Sporting CP, marking six straight defeats for the Blues. It was the longest losing streak of Guardiola's career, and proof that punters should be careful parting with their cash and expecting an immediate bounce back.
