Manchester City suffered their first loss in 10 matches in all competitions as Matty Cash's first-half strike secured a 1-0 victory for Aston Villa on Sunday, the hosts' fourth straight win in the Premier League.
City's first loss since August left them six points behind leaders Arsenal, who edged Crystal Palace 1-0, after nine matches.
Villa, unbeaten in their last six league games, are a point below City.
"We work a lot on set-pieces, over the last couple of years there have been a lot of set-pieces that have won us games and today is no different," Cash told the BBC after his second league goal of the season.
"The last month we've been really good. Defensively really good. We've just stuck together as a group. And at Villa Park they're always behind us."
Villa looked to find Ollie Watkins with long balls and counters early on, while Emiliano Buendia's shot went too high in the third minute. Tijjani Reijnders almost put City ahead in the sixth minute but the midfielder's shot went over the bar.
The hosts took the lead in the 19th minute from Buendia's corner, as Cash received the ball just outside the box and fired with his left foot into the bottom right corner past a helpless City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Norway international Erling Haaland ran through Villa's defensive line and nearly equalised two minutes later, but keeper Emiliano Martinez denied his attempt.
Villa kept up the pressure despite losing Buendia to a right-foot injury near the half-hour mark, with Watkins' header off Lucas Digne's corner being blocked and Morgan Rogers heading wide off John McGinn's cross 10 minutes later.
After the break, Villa's defence survived a chaotic moment near the hour mark as Savinho fired two shots on target, but his first effort was blocked and the second attempt was scooped over the bar from the edge of the goal line by defender Pau Torres.
Villa had chances to extend their lead as Jadon Sancho, who replaced Buendia, cut in from the left in the 69th minute and fired two shots at Donnarumma but the Italian keeper blocked both times.
Watkins just had the keeper to beat as he chased a through ball into City's box six minutes later, but Donnarumma was quick to drop down and keep it out.
Haaland, who had scored in his last 12 matches for club and country, found the net near the 90th minute but it was ruled out due to an offside in the build-up, as City failed to find an equaliser and succumbed to their third loss at Villa Park in a row.
"Our pressing was really bad, we arrived two seconds late to every duel. That was the feeling, even though our offensive concepts were quite good... when our pressing isn't good we don't play well," City captain Bernardo Silva told Sky Sports.
"It's still a long way to go. I don't want to draw too many conclusions. We'd love to be at the top but we're not."
City visit Swansea City in a League Cup clash on Wednesday, while Villa continue their league campaign at title-holders Liverpool on Saturday.
Eze scores winner for Arsenal against former side
Eberechi Eze delivered a telling blow to his former team by scoring his first Premier League goal for Arsenal in a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace to extend the North London club's lead at the top of the standings.
Eze, who spent five seasons at Selhurst Park before Arsenal signed him in August, struck in the 39th minute when Gabriel Magalhaes headed Declan Rice's free kick into his path. The midfielder leapt to steer a first-time finish past Dean Henderson.
The 27-year-old midfielder, who was a key part of Palace's victorious FA Cup run last season, did not celebrate the goal.
The victory extended Arsenal's unbeaten run to six league matches and 10 games in all competitions, and opened up a four-point cushion over second-placed Bournemouth with 22 points after nine games.
The first half had few attempts for either team, with Leandro Trossard's shot saved by Dean Henderson.
The second half at the Emirates Stadium had a far different feel as Arsenal pressed for a second goal, with a flurry of chances including a chance at an easy tap-in for Bukayo Saka that Palace defender Marc Guehi scrambled to boot clear.
A frenzied series of Arsenal shots had Gabriel's header cannon off the bar and Rice and Saka both go close.
"We're really pleased with the win and another clean sheet. We need to keep going," Trossard told Sky Sports.
"Lately it has been like that, we have to keep patience throughout the game because we know we can score anytime. It would have been nice if we had put the game to bed."
David Raya earned an impressive ninth clean sheet in 12 Premier League and Champions League games this season, while Arsenal have scored a league-high 11 goals from dead-ball situations.
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