Aston Villa 2 – 2 Burnley
Aston Villa let a lead slip twice again against a Burnley team that were there for the taking. The game started brightly with both teams having efforts within the first 15 minutes. McGinn heading over the bar and Wood doing the same at the other end.
Villa however were looking more dominant, and that showed when they had the ball in the back of the net. Hourihane down the left-wing swept in a great cross for McGinn to Tap in. 1-0 or so we thought. As the players walked back for a restart, the tannoy proudly proclaiming McGinn as the goal scorer, it became obvious that the referee was in contact with the VAR team. Sure enough, the scoreboard announced that the goal was disallowed, Hourihane was marginally offside.
Villa however shrugged off their disappointment and in the 33rd minute were ahead. Guilbert lifted the ball into the area for El Ghazi, who flicked the ball past Pope. 1-0 to the Villa, this time no need for VAR. Villa were starting to dominate going into half time, again El Ghazi had a chance with a cross from McGinn only for him to put it wide.
Embed from Getty ImagesHT: Aston Villa 1 – 0 Burnley
Villa started the second half sluggishly giving Burnley the momentum, Hendrick sending the ball over the bar after 48 minutes. The equaliser eventually came in the 66th minute when Barnes held up the ball on the left-hand side, catching El Ghazi in the face. The ball was picked up by Pieters who chipped the ball into the area for Rodriguez to nod home. 1- 1, El Ghazi coming off injured to be replaced by Trezeguet.
This spurred Villa back into life and they pushed forward to try and retake the lead. We had opportunities; Grealish taking the ball to the edge of the box and shooting over the bar when Trezeguet was in a better position. The goal came after some fine work by Trezeguet who took the ball to the by-line and floated a cross to McGinn. McGinn controlled then blasted the ball through Pope’s legs for the second goal. 2-1 to the Villa in the 79th minute.
Nothing however is ever easy with Villa, and they allowed Burnley back into the game within a couple of minutes. Ex-Villa player Lowton was able to cross from the right side and Wood managed to get between two defenders to nod home. 2-2 in the 82nd minute.
Villa pushed forward for the final few minutes, Davis being brought on for the ineffective Wesley. They had a couple of half-chances but it was difficult breaking down a 10 man defence. The match ended even, but Burnley will be the far happier team.
Final Score: Aston Villa 2 – 2 Burnley
Teams:
Aston Villa: Heaton, Guilbert, Targett (Taylor), Engels, Mings, Nakamba, Hourihane, McGinn⚽️, El Ghazi⚽️ (Trézéguet🟨), Grealish, Wesley (Davis)
Burnley: Pope, Pieters, Mee, Tarkowski🟨, Lowton, McNeil, Cork (Rodriguez🟨⚽️), Westwood🟨, Hendrick, Barnes🟨 (Brady), Wood⚽️