Enzo Maresca said Manchester City had done enough to earn more from their 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa and felt his team needed to be “more lucky” after their perfect start to the Premier League season ended at Villa Park.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice for Aston Villa, taking advantage of poor City defending to secure the hosts’ victory. His first goal came in the sixth minute after Marc Guehi surrendered possession cheaply, while his second effort took a deflection before squeezing past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Erling Haaland restored parity in the 52nd minute, and City continued to press for a second goal. Josko Gvardiol came close when his effort was pushed on to the crossbar, but Aston Villa held on for three points.
“When we scored, I had the feeling the entire game we were in control,” Maresca told BBC Match of the Day.
“We created many chances but sometimes we have to be more lucky. We considered just one transition the entire second half and unfortunately, they score.
“We struggled the first probably 10-15 minutes and we expected them in one way and they were in a different way. We adjusted and controlled the game.
“Even for us it was a good game, performance. Unfortunately, we lost but overall we did enough to deserve something more. We’ll learn from it and move on.”
City’s defensive mistakes contributed significantly to the result. Since the beginning of last season, only Jan Paul van Hecke, with four, has committed more errors leading directly to goals among Premier League outfield players than Guehi, who has made three.
Donnarumma has also been responsible for three errors leading to goals in the competition since joining City last season. Among goalkeepers during that period, only Bart Verbruggen, with five, and Robin Roefs, with four, have made more such mistakes.
The defeat comes during a difficult defensive spell for Maresca’s side. City conceded only eight goals in their first nine matches of the season across all competitions, but have allowed nine in their past four games.
The result was also another setback against Aston Villa. Three of City’s last five Premier League defeats have come against Villa, while they have now lost four consecutive away league matches against the same opponent.
That is the first time they have suffered such a run since February 2023, when Tottenham ended City’s away league matches against them with a fourth successive victory.
