The Verdict: Nicolas Jackson is riding the crest of a wave - and so are Aston Villa

The former Chelsea striker scored both goals for Villa to guide them to a statement victory over Manchester City.

In doing so, Villa extended their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions with a fourth successive win.

Villa made a slow start with a 4-0 drubbing at Brighton and home defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest respectively either side of a goalless draw at Hull City.

Now, the feeling is very different and Emery explained afterwards that Villa are ‘getting closer’ to the levels set in recent seasons. As for Jackson, he has been a man rejuvenated since reuniting with his former Villarreal boss Emery, and now has six goals in as many games.

Villa were boosted by the quick return of Johan Manzambi, who missed the midweek win over Viking in the Champions League due to a knock.

The 21-year-old has been a revelation since arriving from Bundesliga outfit Freiburg in the summer, but started on the left rather than as the No 10, as John McGinn was elected to play more centrally.

That tactical twist paid dividends, especially during the opening exchanges when McGinn pounced on a loose touch from City defender Marc Guehi. The Scotsman quickly nudged a through ball into the path of Jackson, who faced a tight angle, but still somehow found a way of squeezing his finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

It would not be the last time that Guehi would be exposed by the troublesome twosome spearheading the Villa counter-attacks. Once again, McGinn sent Jackson striding away and the England international felt he had no other option but to pull him down.

The referee brandished a yellow card and Guehi, along with Rayan Cherki, was replaced at the interval.

Although Villa looked a menace on the transition, they did have to weather a storm at different periods of the game.

Injury had put the left-back slot under strain, but those issues have been alleviated by the return of Ian Maatsen from an ankle injury.

The Dutchman initially struggled to get to grips with Iliman Ndiaye, who proved a tricky customer on the left for City. He drew a smart save from Zion Suzuki early in the first half and clipped the post with another low shot from just outside the box.

Ndiaye also set-up the equaliser for Haaland with an inviting cross to the back post, but Maatsen did grow into the contest, and made a crucial clearance on the line to keep out Haaland late on.

The fact that he completed 90 minutes is a major positive, especially considering Aaron Wan-Bissaka is set to miss the next three to four weeks with a hamstring injury.

More on Suzuki, the Japan international has adapted seamlessly to the Premier League since succeeding Emi Martinez as the Villans’ No 1.

That in itself is no tall order. The World Cup-winning Martinez had been a reliable figure between the sticks for six seasons and was twice awarded the Yashin Trophy (for the best goalkeeper in the world) during his spell at Villa Park.

Yet Suzuki has risen to the challenge. Emery spoke in detail about the benefits that his distribution skills provide and that was illustrated once again in the victory over City.

He has a calmness on the ball which lends itself perfectly to the modern game. It may generate the odd squirm when an opposition attacker looks set to steal the ball from his toes, but Suzuki always finds a way of emerging untroubled and spraying to ball to a teammate.

Not only that, but he is a fine shot-stopper too. He plunged low to his left, showing cat-like reflexes, to claw Cherki’s close-range shot into his grasp in the first half, and produced an even better stop in the second half to tip Josko Gvardiol’s fierce effort on to the top of the crossbar.

Alysson is another player who continues to show signs of progression with Villa. Plucked from Gremio in January, the Brazilian winger spent his first six months in England plagued by injury.

The 20-year-old has propelled himself into the first team frame in recent weeks. He made his first start in the 1-0 win at Newcastle United on the previous weekend and followed that up with a glittering display in the Champions League.

However, Alysson was subjected to a telling-off by Emery at Newcastle, after remonstrating with the officials rather than chasing back to cover for Matty Cash. So it was refreshing, as he also showed against Viking, to see him tracking back at a relentless rate.

Yet it was his replacement, Ibrahim Mbaye who set-up the match-winner when his Senegalese compatriot Jackson sprayed the ball out to him. Mbaye chased and weighted his cross to perfection for Jackson to drill underneath Donnarruma.