Premier League
Manchester City's perfect start is over, and it ended the way this fixture keeps ending — in noise at Villa Park.
Aston Villa beat the league leaders 2–1 on Saturday morning, handing City their first defeat of the season after seven straight wins. Nicolas Jackson scored both Villa goals, one in each half, either side of an Erling Haaland equaliser, and Unai Emery's rebuilt side held on through a finish that asked everything of goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
The opener came inside six minutes, and City made it themselves. Marc Guéhi's heavy touch invited Villa captain John McGinn to pounce, McGinn fed Jackson, and the striker slotted the ball into the bottom corner. City pushed for the rest of the half without finding a way through, and manager Enzo Maresca acted at the break, withdrawing Guéhi.
Seven minutes after the restart, City were level. Haaland headed home Iliman Ndiaye's clipped cross from a free kick — a goal that felt like the start of the usual comeback. Instead, Villa scored the winner eight minutes later. Substitute Ibrahim Mbaye surged down the right and cut the ball back for his Senegal teammate Jackson, whose shot sneaked under Gianluigi Donnarumma's dive. It was Jackson's second of the game and, per Opta, made him the first Villa player to score a Premier League brace against the league leaders since Andreas Weimann against Manchester United in November 2012.
City had the chances to take something — they out-shot Villa 15 to 8 — but Suzuki produced a string of saves to protect the lead, and Villa saw it out. Jackson, who is up to seven goals in all competitions this season, called it plainly afterwards: "It is incredible. It was difficult but we got the win and that is the most important thing. We know City are a strong team and now we can focus on the next one."
What it changes: City stay top with 21 points from eight games, and Arsenal took the invitation later in the day: their 2–0 win over Everton (Konsa 7', Gabriel 68') drew them level with City on 21 points. Villa climb to sixth on 11 points with their first league victory at Villa Park this season, extending a run of six wins in seven games in all competitions after failing to win any of their first four league matches. City, meanwhile, have now lost on four straight visits to Villa Park.
Friday's Premier League fixture finished Nottingham Forest 1–1 Ipswich Town at Portman Road. The day's other finished games: Arsenal beat Everton 2–0 and Fulham won 1–0 at Coventry City (Oscar Bobb, 80'). The London derby, Chelsea–Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, is the late game.
La Liga
Elche produced the morning's other statement result, winning 3–0 at Rayo Vallecano at Vallecas. Federico Redondo put the visitors ahead on 23 minutes, Fer Niño doubled it on 36, and Germán Valera finished the job on 68, assisted by Facundo Buonanotte. Elche began the day 18th on seven points; the win lifts them to 10 points from 10 games and out of the relegation places for now. Barcelona remain top of La Liga on 27 points from nine games, ahead of Atlético Madrid (22) and Real Madrid (21), both of whom play later this weekend — Atlético host Deportivo and Valencia host Villarreal today. Friday's game finished Alavés 1–1 Málaga.
Champions League
No fixtures in the window — the next matchday falls midweek. The story of the European week stays as it was: Wednesday's wrap is already on Previously, and nothing since has changed it.
MLS
A 14-game Saturday slate kicks off later today, starting with Nashville SC at CF Montréal (10:30 a.m. PT), and including Inter Miami CF at Red Bull New York and the day's late West Coast games, Charlotte FC at Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC at San Diego FC (both 7:30 p.m. PT). No MLS match had finished at press time, so there is nothing to round up yet — results belong to tonight's scoreboard, not to this story.
The Argument — Jackson vs. Haaland
Two strikers, three goals, one perfect record gone. Haaland did what he does — a header to level the game seven minutes after the restart. Jackson did it twice, once in each half, and his second was the winner.
| Nicolas Jackson | Erling Haaland | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 2 | 1 |
| Scoring minutes | 6' and 60' | 52' |
| The decisive moment | The winner, eight minutes after Haaland's equaliser | An equaliser that lasted eight minutes |
Run the comparison yourself in Previously Stats: Stats Hub Compare — Jackson vs. Haaland
By the Numbers
Sources · 6 sources
- ESPN scoreboard APIs (eng.1, esp.1, uefa.champions, usa.1; dates 20261022–20261024) — read twice from the droplet, reads agreeing: Villa 2–1 City STATUS_FULL_TIME, Rayo 0–3 Elche STATUS_FULL_TIME; ESPN summary payloads for events 401879256 and 401882830 confirming full time and goal minutes (6'/52'/60' and 23'/36'/68').
- ESPN standings APIs (eng.1, esp.1): City 8 played, 21 pts, 7W–1L; Villa 8 played, 11 pts; Arsenal 7 played, 18 pts; Elche 10 played, 10 pts; Barcelona 9 played, 27 pts.
- Reuters, "Jackson double ends Man City's perfect run as Villa win 2-1" (Oct 24, 2026) — goal descriptions, Guéhi error, Mbaye cutback, Suzuki saves, Villa first home league win, Arsenal level-on-points stakes.
- Associated Press via Sportsnet, "Premier League roundup: Man City's perfect start ends with loss at Aston Villa" (Oct 24, 2026) — Jackson quote, seven goals in all competitions, Villa's run of six wins in seven, City's fourth straight Villa Park defeat, hero photo caption (Morgan Harlow/AP).
- Opta Analyst match centre — Jackson first Villa brace vs league leaders since Weimann (Nov 2012). theScore / SportsCafe timelines — Elche scorers and minutes corroboration.
- Arsenal FC official match report and Opta/The Analyst — Arsenal 2–0 Everton (Konsa 7', Gabriel 68'), Arsenal level with City on 21 points (Oct 24, 2026); Sky Sports — Coventry City 0–1 Fulham (Bobb 80'), full time (Oct 24, 2026). Desk freshness update applied at publish: the draft's pre-match 'still to come' framing was updated to these verified finals.
