Owen Hargreaves praises ‘flawless’ Aston Villa star alongside Jackson in Man City win
Aston Villa gave Man City a bloody nose at Villa Park, with Nicolas Jackson’s double securing a 2-1 victory and ending the visitors’ perfect start.
Unai Emery‘s side were up and running inside six minutes, as Marc Guehi’s loose touch opened the door for John McGinn to seize his chance and supply Jackson to finish.
City had arrived with seven league wins from seven, but Villa had no intention of rolling out the red carpet.
Iliman Ndiaye hit the post as the visitors hunted an equaliser, while Zion Suzuki made sure their pressure didn’t bring an immediate reward.
Erling Haaland eventually dragged City level after the break, heading home Ndiaye’s delivery in the 52nd, and suddenly Villa had another test on their hands.
Their response was a cracker.
|
Total |
Aston Villa |
Man City |
|---|---|---|
|
Goals |
2 |
1 |
|
Possession |
36.8% |
63.2% |
|
Expected goals (xG) |
0.61 |
1.79 |
|
Total shots |
8 |
15 |
|
Shots on target |
2 |
7 |
|
Big chances missed |
0 |
3 |
|
Corners |
4 |
7 |
|
Passing accuracy |
80.9% |
89.4% |
|
Goalkeeper saves |
6 |
0 |
|
Successful tackles |
13 |
10 |
|
Duels won |
59 |
60 |
|
Fouls committed |
21 |
17 |
|
Offsides |
1 |
2 |
|
Yellow cards |
4 |
4 |
|
Red cards |
0 |
0 |
Jackson linked up with substitute Ibrahim Mbaye before meeting his teammate’s return ball and beating Gianluigi Donnarumma on the hour, and the City goalkeeper definitely won’t enjoy watching that one back.
Suzuki still had work to do, and Ian Maatsen made a crucial late intervention to deny Haaland.
However, Villa held their nerve and pocketed three points that will taste particularly sweet.
It was quite the anniversary present for Emery, appointed four years ago to the day. His players were brave, organised and ready to scrap.
Jackson will understandably grab plenty of headlines for his brace, but Owen Hargreaves also had his eye on the work being done by Matty Cash.
Matty Cash earns ‘flawless’ Owen Hargreaves praise as Aston Villa topple Man City
The defender had Jérémy Doku to deal with, hardly the sort of assignment that allows you to switch off for a second.
Speaking on TNT Sports during the game, Hargreaves reserved special praise for Cash for his ‘flawless’ display.
“Matty Cash has been flawless, all the Villa players have been,” said Hargreaves.
“Every Aston Villa player has won numerous one on one battles this afternoon.”
That was a glowing assessment of Cash, but the wider point mattered just as much, as Villa needed players winning their individual contests all over the pitch to keep City from taking charge.
Cash gave them exactly the sort of commitment Emery would have wanted on the right.
He was booked early in the second half, adding another complication to his duel with Doku. With a winger that quick and direct coming at him, keeping his discipline became even more important.
Cash later explained that he had studied clips of Doku before the match, and his plan was to close the Belgian down quickly and make the contest physical before he could turn and attack.
It was preparation with a clear purpose.
Cash also stepped in to block a Phil Foden effort late on, another example of the work required to see out a narrow lead against opponents with that much quality.
Hargreaves’ praise captured why this result belonged to more than the man who scored the goals.
Suzuki’s saves, Maatsen’s intervention and Cash’s determination all helped protect what Jackson had earned, with Villa’s all-round team performance deserving due praise.
