Aston Villa claimed their first home points of the Premier League season by twice coming from behind to pull off an unlikely 3-2 victory over Manchester City at Villa Park.
Yaya Toure gave the visitors a 1-0 half-time advantage after turning in Samir Nasri's corner, but the Citizens were pegged back through Karim El Ahmadi's second Villa goal five minutes after the interval.
Another set piece yielded a second City goal as Edin Dzeko restored their lead with a near-post header, but Leandro Bacuna brought the hosts level again with a superb 72nd-minute free kick.
Just three minutes later, Andreas Weimann netted the decisive strike when he prodded the ball past the onrushing Joe Hart, following miscommunication between the Man City centre-backs.
Below, Sports Mole analyses whether the result was reflective of the action in the Midlands.
Match statistics:
Villa:
Shots: 8
On target: 4
Possession: 33%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 13
City:
Shots: 20
On target: 7
Possession: 67%
Corners: 13
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
City had two thirds of the ball, 13 corners and 20 shots on goal, but somehow came away from Villa Park empty=handed. It was a real smash-and-grab win from Paul Lambert's side, who were barely competitive in the first period. City will know that they have thrown three points away today.
Villa's performance
In the absence of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke, Villa looked devoid of any attacking plan and did not threaten throughout the entire first half. Credit to them, though, they defended stubbornly, never letting a dominant City get out of sight, and then they were clinical in front of goal when opportunities came their way. El Ahmadi finished like a forward and Bacuna's free kick was a peach.
City's performance
Manuel Pellegrini will have no complaints about how his side played in the first period, so what changed? Perhaps complacency seeped into the City players at half time, as defensive mistakes began to creep into their game and ended up ultimately costing them. They bossed the midfield all match and were very dangerous on the flanks, which are proving a weapon under the Pellegrini regime. At the business end, though, Sergio Aguero was missed, as more composure from Dzeko or substitute Stevan Jovetic could have resulted in a different final outcome.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Yaya Toure: This guy is proving every week that he is the complete midfielder. Not only does he provide excellent protection to the City back four, but he contributes so much to the team's attacking play, travelling with the ball powerfully and also chipping in with goals. His strike today was his sixth of the season already. The Ivorian certainly did not deserve to be on the losing side this afternoon.
Biggest gaffe
Vincent Kompany received many plaudits for his performance in the Manchester derby, but it was neither his nor Matija Nastasic's finest afternoon. The two centre-backs were particularly culpable for Weimann's winning goal, as they allowed Brad Guzan's goal kick to bounce, uncontested, straight through them.
Referee's performance
Martin Atkinson correctly ignored optimistic penalty calls from each side and generally let the game flow despite a few crunching tackles, but his assistant may come under the spotlight after failing to notice El Ahmadi was in an offside position for Villa's first equaliser.
What next?
Villa: Lambert's side's last Premier League game before the international break sees Villa travel to Hull City, who have coped well upon their return to the top flight.
City: A test of their European credentials with the visit of Champions League holders Bayern Munich on Wednesday, before another tricky home tie against Everton at the weekend.
Joe Fish
