Player Watch · Oct 27, 2026
Zion stands tall: six saves as Aston Villa beat unbeaten Man City 2–1
Manchester City came to Villa Park on Oct 24 having won all seven of their Premier League games. They left with their first defeat, and Zion Suzuki was a big reason why. Japan's No. 1 played the full 90 and made six saves in a 2–1 win, with Nicolas Jackson scoring twice either side of an Erling Haaland header. The highlight was a fingertip stop that pushed a Josko Gvardiol shot onto the crossbar, a save the BBC singled out. He also denied Cherki and Diomande, and stayed calm with the ball at his feet all afternoon. Two months ago he was the transfer saga of the summer. Now he's beating the champions-in-waiting. With Brazil coming up on Nov 14 in Singapore, Moriyasu has to like what he's seeing from his goalkeeper.
Source: Soccer King (Japanese), citing BBC