Aston Villa produced a stunning performance to hand Manchester City a 1-0 defeat at Villa Park, leaving Pep Guardiola’s side six points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Matty Cash was the hero for Unai Emery’s men, firing home a superb strike from outside the box in the 19th minute to seal a memorable victory and mark Emery’s third anniversary as Villa boss in style.

The win ended City’s nine-game unbeaten run and condemned them to a third straight defeat at Villa Park, as Erling Haaland’s 12-match scoring streak came to an abrupt halt.

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Haaland missed a golden one-on-one chance early on, and from then on, Villa’s disciplined defence frustrated the champions. City managed just two shots in the first half, while Pau Torres produced a vital block to deny Savinho after the interval.

Although Haaland had a late goal ruled out for offside, City’s lack of attacking options beyond their Norwegian talisman proved costly; no other City player has scored in the league for over a month.

The result lifts Villa to seventh in the table, just one point behind fourth-placed City, and extends their winning streak to four league matches. Guardiola, meanwhile, will be concerned by his team’s recent dip and the widening gap to Arsenal in the title race.

City’s defeat was their first since August and only the second time this season they’ve failed to score, a performance that underlined how far off their usual dominance they currently are.

An elated Unai Emery hailed his team’s effort and the atmosphere at Villa Park.

“The result is fantastic, an outstanding performance. We needed the supporters and Villa Park, as well as the energy and tactics. Everything we planned before was on the field. Our fortress was alive today. A very good result.”