Dias vows City will improve after Jackson double seals Aston Villa win

Nicolas Jackson scored twice to hand Aston Villa a 2-1 Premier League victory over Manchester City at Villa Park, ending the champions’ unbeaten start to the season and leaving captain Ruben Dias to pledge that improvements must follow.

City were caught cold inside six minutes when John McGinn pounced on a loose touch from Marc Guehi and teed up Jackson, who lifted the ball into the roof of the net. Pep Guardiola’s side recovered well and were unfortunate not to level before the break when Iliman Ndiaye clipped the post.

Haaland drew City level early in the second half, converting Ndiaye’s cross for his ninth Premier League goal of the season, and the momentum appeared to have shifted firmly in the visitors’ favour. Villa, however, struck on the counter — Jackson’s low drive squirming under Gianluigi Donnarumma to complete his brace and seal all three points.

Dias was candid in his assessment after the final whistle. “Frustrating — felt like we fought a lot. First 10-15 minutes of the first half we took our time to get into the game. They changed the way they set up so we took time to adapt,” he said.

“We fought, we had chances and they ended up scoring two goals in two transitions — very efficient. Room to improve, we need to do better. Whatever happens we need to react to it.”

The City captain acknowledged the timing of the second goal made it particularly difficult to absorb. “The second one was tough because it was very close to our equaliser. We kept going and tried to create chances. Not our day but we keep moving forward.”

Dias also offered credit to his teammates for their resilience throughout. “I felt like we were dangerous on many occasions, even if the finish wasn’t there we arrived in dangerous places. A word of appreciation to the boys because we kept fighting to the end.”

City now face a quick turnaround with back-to-back home fixtures against Brighton — first in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and then in the Premier League on Saturday. Dias described the upcoming challenge as a chance to refocus: “A top team, another one. A different way to play so we’ll make the adaptation then focus on ourselves — that’s the main thing, our spirit, our will to win.”