First Defeat: Who Did Experts Criticize Most in the Manchester City Squad?

After losing 1-2 to Aston Villa at Villa Park in the 8th round of the Premier League, suffering their first dropped points of the season, Manchester City’s players' performance is being hotly debated.

While Nicolas Jackson's brace brought a sensational victory for the Birmingham side, Erling Haaland's goal was not enough to save the 'Cityzens'. Manchester City’s cityxtra.co.uk portal analysts provided individual ratings for the team members in this match, scoring them on a 10-point scale.

Defense and Goalkeeper: Total Collapse and Abdukodir Khusanov’s versatility

The City defensive line and goalkeeper were the most criticized by experts, but the Uzbek defender looked solid against this backdrop:

• Abdukodir Khusanov — 6/10: The Uzbekistan national team defender played more boldly than usual in the first half and actively joined the attacks. After the break, due to tactical changes, he moved to the center of the field and made almost no positional errors;

• Gianluigi Donnarumma — 3/10 (Anti-hero): Wasted too much time restarting play, caused a corner kick, and was sluggish on the first goal. His error on the second goal was rated as terrible — the goalkeeper must improve his game immediately;

• Marc Guehi — 3/10: Became the main culprit for Nicolas Jackson's first goal. Struggled to stop the Villa striker throughout the half, received a yellow card, and was substituted at halftime;

• Ruben Dias — 6/10: In the moments when the team was in disarray after the quick conceded goal, he made a brilliant save to deny the opponent;

• Josko Gvardiol — 6/10: Hit the crossbar when the score was 1-1. His header after a set-piece went wide — he lacked composure.

Midfield and Wings: Special Tasks and Unlucky Moves

The performance of the midfield and wingers was marked by tension:

• Iliman Ndiaye — 7/10 (Man of the Match): Came close to scoring twice in the first half, hitting the post, then provided the assist for the equalizer. This was his most meaningful 60 minutes in a City shirt;

• Elliot Anderson — 6/10: Was active in a hard-fought game, but made more mistakes than usual;

• Enzo Fernandez — 5/10: Had one of his most unfortunate games, failing to boost the attack or provide sufficient help in defense;

• Rayan Cherki — 5/10: Failed to capitalize on a good opportunity, was cautioned for a tactical foul, and was substituted at halftime;

• Jeremy Doku — 5/10: Provided good passes to Cherki and Gvardiol on the wing, but defender Matty Cash almost 'shut him down', and Doku was hasty in key moments.

Attack and Substitutes

The situation in the front line and the ratings for the substitutes were as follows:

• Erling Haaland — 7/10: Jumped high at the decisive moment to score a classic header and restore balance. However, for the rest of the minutes, he received no quality passes from his teammates;

• Rico Lewis — 5/10: Played in a new position in the second half, but lacked precision in final decisions;

• Phil Foden — 5/10: After coming on, he posed absolutely no threat to the opponent's defense and remained invisible;

• Rayan Makeydu — 6/10: The young player was given a good opportunity while trailing; he looked energetic but could not influence the result of the game.