Man City lose first league game of the season at Aston Villa
Manchester City lost 2-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday 24 October, their first Premier League defeat of the season. The Premier League is England's top division, and City had gone into the game without losing a league match this term.
Villa took the lead after City's Marc Guehi gave the ball away, according to BBC Sport. Guehi later pulled down Nicolas Jackson and was shown a yellow card, a caution for a foul. He went off at half-time. City's only goal came from a header after a cross by Iliman Ndiaye, as Reuters reported.
The stats told a story of territory. City had 63% of the possession, the share of the ball a team keeps, and 53 touches inside Villa's penalty box, according to Manchester City's club website. Manager Enzo Maresca said his side had created enough chances to win. Villa's goals, though, came from City mistakes, and that is the part that stung.
Maresca was quick to defend Guehi. He said he was "completely happy" with the defender and called him a "top guy".
The result came at a hard moment off the pitch. City were found guilty of breaking most of the 115 Premier League financial charges, and the Villa trip was their second away game since an independent commission announced that decision. Midfielder Elliot Anderson told TNT Sports before the match that City get a hostile reception "everywhere we go".
Maresca has made the same point more than once. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "We played Liverpool away, Villa away, and the players showed that they don't care about noise." City had won 3-0 at Anfield, Liverpool's ground, earlier in the season. Maresca also said his team focus on what they can control: "They play the game, they are focused on the game and are doing the right things."
His view on the wider noise is simple. He has said he does not want his players thinking about away crowds or outside criticism. In his words, they "just focus on how we can try to do our best and try to win games."
The schedule gives City little time to dwell on Villa. They beat AEK Athens 5-1 in the Champions League, Europe's main club competition, on the Tuesday before this game. Next comes RB Leipzig in the Champions League, and then a league trip to Nottingham Forest on 7 November.
For Villa, it was a win over the champions-in-waiting of the Premier League's recent years, and a reminder that a team can beat City without having most of the ball. For City, it is a first dropped point of the league season, and a first loss to answer. The reaction on the next trip will show how much the noise is getting to them.
