Enzo Maresca remains confident in Marc Guéhi despite the defender being involved in three goals conceded by his team across their last two Premier League fixtures. The Manchester City manager backed the player after his side suffered their first league defeat of the season.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice as Aston Villa claimed a 2-1 win at Villa Park. Guéhi failed to bring the ball under control in the buildup to the opening goal, allowing John McGinn to collect possession and set up Jackson. After receiving a booking in the 32nd minute, the defender was taken off at half-time. His mistakes had also contributed to Ipswich scoring twice against City the previous weekend.
“I have no concerns about Marc,” Maresca said. “He has played every available minute since the campaign began, both for us and for his national side, which is demanding. We also replaced him because he had already been booked. Our aggressive approach can make it risky to continue with a player on a yellow card, but I remain fully confident in him.”
City registered 15 attempts compared with Villa’s eight as they dropped points for the first time this campaign. Zion Suzuki produced several crucial second-half saves to deny the visitors, while Villa converted both of their efforts on target.
“Considering how many opportunities we made and how few we allowed, I believe we deserved a better result,” Maresca said. “We were not ruthless enough in their penalty area. Their first goal followed an error, while the second came from a transition late in the opening half. Those situations cannot always be prevented, but we will take lessons from this match, move forward and work on improving.”
Jackson now has seven goals since joining from Chelsea. He repeatedly troubled City’s central defenders with his pace, strength and composed finishing. Unai Emery said of the striker: “He sets very high standards for himself and is always looking to develop. He scored twice today and has also found the net in recent games. Earlier in the campaign, when things were more difficult for us, many of his attempts were going well off target.
“His finishing is improving now. He is performing exceptionally well from a tactical perspective and has a much clearer understanding of what the team requires from him. The two goals were important, but the most valuable part of his display was the way he fulfilled his responsibilities.”
Fellow summer arrival Suzuki also made a strong case for the player of the match award and is beginning to demonstrate why Villa identified him as Emiliano Martínez’s successor. Matty Cash told TNT Sport: “He has been outstanding. During his first training session, I watched him in a possession exercise and thought we had recruited a midfielder. His awareness is remarkable, and he deals with crosses confidently, which makes life much easier for a full-back.”
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