Aston Villa vs Man City live: Jackson puts Villa 1-0 up

Key takeaways

• Aston Villa led Premier League leaders Manchester City 1-0 at Villa Park on Saturday, 24 October 2026, after Nicolas Jackson scored in the sixth minute.
• The goal came after City defender Marc Guéhi lost the ball near the edge of his own area. Jackson finished at the near post past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
• Kick-off was 12:30 BST (11:30 UTC). This report reflects the match as of about the 13th minute (around 11:45 UTC). The game was still in progress at the time of writing.
• City, coached by Enzo Maresca, came into the game top of the table. Villa had won their last three home meetings with City and beat them twice in the league last season.

Aston Villa vs Man City live: what happened

Aston Villa vs Man City is 1-0 to the hosts at Villa Park: Nicolas Jackson scored in the sixth minute, finishing at the near post past Gianluigi Donnarumma after Marc Guéhi lost the ball near the edge of his own area.

Villa started on the front foot. Ian Maatsen volleyed over in the fourth minute, the first shot of the game, and Villa won two early corners, according to the Hayters live blog. Two minutes later, Guéhi tried to bring the ball out of defence and lost it. VAVEL reported that John McGinn won possession from the defender near the edge of the box. Jackson then cut inside and beat Donnarumma at his near post.

City began to push for an equaliser after the goal. Enzo Fernández had a volley blocked after a corner in the 12th minute. A minute later, Iliman Ndiaye cut inside and shot with his left foot, but Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki saved it, according to Hayters.

Timeline (UTC)

Times are converted from the Hayters live blog timestamps (BST, UTC+1). Minute markers match VAVEL and Sports Mole.

Starting line-ups

Both teams lined up in a 4-2-3-1. The line-ups below are as published by Sports Mole and VAVEL before kick-off.

Manzambi started after passing a late fitness test, Sports Mole reported. Before the game, Emery had called him a 50-50 doubt. Matty Cash and Ian Maatsen returned at full-back. Alysson started on the flank ahead of Emiliano Buendía. Haaland started after a minor ankle problem.

Maresca made four changes from City's 5-1 win over AEK Athens in midweek. Guéhi, Ndiaye and Doku came into the side, and Phil Foden dropped to the bench.

What we know and what we don't know yet

• Known: the score was 1-0 to Aston Villa at about 11:45 UTC, with Jackson scoring in the sixth minute. Live coverage from VAVEL, Hayters and Sports Mole agrees on the score and the scorer.
• Known: the line-ups, the venue (Villa Park, Birmingham) and the kick-off time (12:30 BST, 11:30 UTC).
• Not yet known: the half-time and final score, and whether City can extend their unbeaten start to the season. The live sources reported no cards or injuries up to the 13th minute.
• Reporting differs: sources describe the goal slightly differently. Hayters blamed a poor touch by Guéhi, while VAVEL credited McGinn with winning the ball. All of them agree that Guéhi lost possession just before Jackson scored.

Background

City arrived at Villa Park as Premier League leaders, according to Sports Mole. The 101 Great Goals preview said they had won all seven league games this season. Haaland led the league with eight goals, the same preview reported. Maresca is now in charge at City. Pep Guardiola's final game as City manager was a 2-1 home defeat to Villa on 24 May 2026, when Ollie Watkins scored twice to secure fourth place for Villa, according to Aston Villa's match report and ESPN.

Villa have a strong recent record against City at home. Before today, they had won their last three meetings at Villa Park and done the league double over City in 2025-26, according to 101 Great Goals and Hayters. Villa's home league form this season had been poor: one draw and two defeats from three games before Saturday, according to 101 Great Goals. They came into the game after a 1-0 league win at Newcastle and three wins from three in the Champions League, including a 3-1 win over Viking FK.

What it means

A Villa win would end City's perfect league start and tighten the race at the top of the table. For Villa, three points would make up for a slow start at home and continue their recent run against City. The game was still early when this report was written. City had most of the match left to respond, with Foden and Mateo Kovačić among the substitutes available to Maresca.

For more football coverage, read our reports on Vincent Kompany's hospital stay after collapsing at Bayern training and the Bayern Munich vs Arsenal Champions League clash. For other sport, see our story on Jacob Misiorowski's World Series velocity record.

Sources

• VAVEL USA: Aston Villa vs Manchester City live score updates (24 October 2026)
• Hayters: Aston Villa v Man City live, team news, updates and reaction
• Sports Mole: Aston Villa vs Man City starting line-ups confirmed
• Manchester City: Aston Villa v City kick-off time and TV information
• 101 Great Goals: Aston Villa v Manchester City live preview and stats
• Aston Villa FC: Report, Manchester City 1-2 Aston Villa (24 May 2026)
• ESPN: Man City 1-2 Aston Villa, 24 May 2026