Manchester City’s flawless Premier League run came to an abrupt halt on Saturday, with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park. Nicolas Jackson’s brace ultimately decided the match, even though City spent long spells on the front foot and created enough chances to avoid defeat.

The visitors were bright before the interval and frequently forced Zion Suzuki into sharp saves, while two penalty appeals were waved away. Iliman Ndiaye was the most dangerous outlet, twice threatening from distance and going close when a fierce effort struck the outside of the post.

After the restart, City finally found a breakthrough. Erling Haaland rose to meet Ndiaye’s delivery and powered in the equaliser, seemingly giving the visitors the momentum they needed. But the response did not last. Villa regained the lead when Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to keep out Jackson’s driven strike, and City were unable to recover despite sustained pressure.

There were positives in the performance, particularly in Ndiaye’s work from wide areas. His acceleration and direct running repeatedly troubled Villa, and his contribution to the goal underlined his influence. Haaland, meanwhile, offered little beyond the header, though that proved enough to add to his tally.

At the other end, Marc Guéhi endured another difficult outing after a costly mistake helped Villa seize the initiative. Donnarumma, too, came under scrutiny after Jackson’s second goal, with the shot appearing central enough to be dealt with. Villa’s goalkeeper Suzuki, by contrast, was outstanding and repeatedly denied City when they seemed poised to score.

The result leaves City with work to do after their unbeaten start was ended, and it also opens the door for Arsenal to draw level at the top of the table.

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel has ruled that Ryan Gravenberch’s red card against Manchester City was correctly given earlier this month.

At the moment of the dismissal, the match was level at 0-0. City then made the extra man count almost immediately, with Erling Haaland putting them ahead three minutes later. By the time Liverpool had lost the Dutch midfielder, City had scored three times inside 16 minutes.

There was frustration from a Liverpool point of view, however, because the first yellow card shown to Gravenberch was viewed as severe. It was also described by Andoni Iraola as “not a yellow”.

“[Elliot] Anderson carries on a couple of steps [before falling]. [The referee] wasn’t even going to give a foul. I’ve no idea why he gives a yellow card. We have like nine players behind the ball,” the frustrated Liverpool manager told Sky Sports after the final whistle.

According to BBC Sport, the panel considered both yellow cards when reviewing the dismissal, as required under protocol. The vote was 4:1 in support of the officials. The single dissenting view was that the foul on Anderson should not have produced the first booking. Once that yellow had been awarded, though, the panel was unanimous in backing the VAR decision not to intervene after the second caution brought about the red.

The decision carries no practical punishment beyond confirming the officials were correct. Gravenberch has already completed the one-match suspension attached to the red, missing last weekend’s trip to Brentford. Liverpool won that game without him, helped by two Brentford red cards after falling behind in the first half.

Had the panel reached the opposite conclusion, the only outcome would have been an acknowledgement of the error and a promise to improve. Match officials could also have been left out of duty for a week. That did not happen here.

Manchester City head into Saturday’s early Premier League fixture at Aston Villa with Erling Haaland confirmed as fully fit. Enzo Maresca said the striker is “100%” available, easing some of the uncertainty around a team still monitoring a few injury concerns.

Maresca said the status of Nico O’Reilly, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovačić remains unresolved. “The injured players] can all be available or not in terms of still doubt,” Maresca revealed. “Yesterday, they were all improving, and we’ll see this afternoon.

“For sure, Erling is the only one 100% available.”

That is a timely boost for a forward who has made an immediate impact this season. Haaland has scored eight goals in seven Premier League appearances and is three clear of Alexander Isak and João Pedro at this stage of the campaign. A fourth Golden Boot, which would match Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, is already within reach.

City’s recent setback came with the news that winger Antoine Semenyo will miss two months through injury. His absence means Maresca has already had to shuffle his attacking options. In the AEK Athens match, Allan was used on the wing and 17-year-old Floyd Samba started in Haaland’s place, while Phil Foden produced the standout display with a hat-trick and an assist for Rayan Cherki.

Maresca described Cherki as “one of the best players in Europe” when he is at his best.

Villa now offer a sterner examination for a City side chasing an eighth straight win to begin the new Premier League season. Jérémy Doku is expected to come in on the wing against Unai Emery’s team, who will also be aware of the challenge of containing Haaland. Few sides, though, have a record against the Norway international as strong as Villa’s.