Everton conquer Villa Park and keep City in second place

Thanks to Manchester City's defeat to Manchester United yesterday, Aston Villa had a chance to leapfrog the Cityzens with a home triumph against Everton. At the same time, after Arsenal's unexpected goalless draw to Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery's men could close the gap to the table-toppers to five points.

But alas... In a relatively dull duel at Villa Park, both teams hit the woodwork once - Merlin Rohl and Evan Guessand, both before the break - Morgan Rogers threatened numerous times, but couldn't get the ball past the fantastic Jordan Pickford, and one mistake turned out to be decisive in the end.

Unfortunately, for the home crew, it was their defender Pau Torres' blunder that led to the Toffees' 59th-minute winner, scored by Thierno Barry - 1-0.

The Frenchman "killed" Villa and brought a vital win to his team, as Everton are now just four points away from the Champions League zone.

After a genuine "snoozefest" in the opening half an hour, during which the only notable moments were Everton's Merlin Rohl hitting the post only 15 seconds into the game and Aston Villa captain John McGinn's injury, which forced him off the pitch, the final quarter of an hour before the break brought proper fireworks.

The Toffees' Jake O'Brien found the net in the 33rd minute, but his goal did not stand for offside. Two minutes later, the defender blocked Morgan Rogers in a colossal chance, saving his team from conceding.

Villa's England international had another decent attempt from a distance minutes later, when Jordan Pickford reacted excellently, while the final opportunity in a goalless first half came in the 41st minute when Evan Guessand - who had replaced McGinn - hit the bar with a header.

I don't like boos from my own fans, admits VVD after another outing to forget

Yet, once the second half started, the rivals quickly returned to their rhythm from the beginning of the match - slow pace, little chances, and main focus on defending. The only thing that could lead to a goal was a mistake. And it happened in the 59th minute when Everton broke the deadlock!

The ex-Man United centre-back Pau Torres made a blunder, losing the ball to Dwight McNeil, whose effort Emiliano Martinez stopped, but couldn't do anything against Thierno Barry and his rebound. The Toffees were unexpectedly up at Villa Park.

Villa improved their offensive play to some extent, aware that they had to pursue the leveller, but just like in the first half, apart from Rogers they didn't have a player capable of making a difference. At one point, the game turned into a personal showdown between the home team's forward and the Toffees' keeper Pickford, in which the custodian had better odds to win, boosting his teammates' confidence with a couple of admirable saves.

As the end approached, the Villans pressure was stronger, but if David Moyes' team was good at anything, it was defending the lead, stealing time, and annoying the opponent. Of course, the Scotsman's crew fulfilled the task ideally and grabbed the vital three points on the road, which brought them only four points away from the Champions League zone. At the same time, this was the Villans' only second home loss this season, and first Everton's win over the Birmingham side since 2016!

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 22

Saturday

Man. United - Man. City 2-0 (0-0)

/Mbeumo 65, Dorgu 76/

Chelsea - Brentford 2-0 (1-0)

/Pedro 26, Palmer 76 pen/

Leeds - Fulham 1-0 (0-0)

/Nmecha 90+1/

Liverpool - Burnley 1-1 (1-0)

/Wirtz 42 - Edwards 65/

Sunderland - Crystal Palace 2-1 (1-1)

/Le Fee 33, Brobbey 71 - Pino 30/

Tottenham - West Ham 1-2 (0-1)

/Romero 64 - Summerville 15, Wilson 90+3/

Nott. Forest - Arsenal 0-0

Sunday

Wolverhampton - Newcastle 0-0

Aston Villa - Everton 0-1 (0-0)

/Barry 59/

Monday

23.00: (1.90) Brighton (3.80) Bournemouth (4.20)

***odds are subject to change***