Enzo Maresca has challenged his Manchester City players to be more efficient in the final third, after their perfect Premier League start was halted by Saturday's loss to Aston Villa.

City slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Villa Park, with Nicolas Jackson profiting from mistakes committed by Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma in either half.

City briefly drew level through Erling Haaland at the start of the second period, but despite amassing 15 shots to Villa's eight and winning the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.56 to 0.61, Maresca's men never truly looked like fighting back for a second time.

After conceding eight goals in their opening nine matches of the 2026-27 season in all competitions, City have since shipped nine times across their last four games.

But Maresca feels their issues may lie at the other end of the pitch, even with Haaland plundering nine goals in just eight Premier League outings in 2026-27.

"For sure, if you see the amount of time we spent in their box, sometimes we need to be more accurate and precise in the final third and score more goals," Maresca said. 

"We spent most of the game in their side, in their box, in the final third.

"Sometimes you have to be more clinical when you have chances but also more precise on the last pass. We have to learn from that."

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— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 24, 2026

City's overall attacking statistics this season have been positive, though, as they have overperformed their total of 27.12 xG comfortably, netting 34 times in 13 games across all competitions. 

They have hit the target with 81 of their 207 shots overall, recording a 53.29% shot accuracy, while their shot conversion rate of 16.43% is the second-best among Premier League clubs in all competitions, after Chelsea's 16.78%. 

Maresca continued: "I felt like we were dangerous on many occasions. Even if the finish wasn't there, we arrived in dangerous places but were not able to play. 

"A word of appreciation to the boys, because we kept fighting to the end. It is what it is. Whatever happens, we need to react to it. The team had a very good reaction. 

"The second goal was tough because it was very close to our equaliser. We kept going and tried to create chances. It was not our day, but we keep moving forward."

City are next in action in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, when they host Brighton with a quarter-final place on the line, before the exact same fixture takes place in the Premier League on Saturday.