Evanilson scored a dramatic 96th-minute equaliser as AFC Bournemouth rescued a thrilling 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
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The hosts bossed proceedings for much of the match, but Mark Travers’ goalkeeping heroics for Bournemouth kept the fixture goalless for 76 minutes.
Ross Barkley came off the bench to find the breakthrough for Unai Emery's side, but there was to be a twist in second-half stoppage time.
Substitute Evanilson headed in from a free-kick to snatch a point for the Cherries, ensuring Villa failed to remain within touching distance of the summit.
Third-placed Villa move above Arsenal but are now five points behind leaders Manchester City while Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth sit 11th, having collected 12 points from nine matches.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
12 | +2 | 19 |
| 8 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
12 | 0 | 19 |
| 9 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
11 | +2 | 18 |
| 10 |
Fulham
FUL
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
| 11 |
Brentford
BRE
|
12 | 0 | 17 |
How the match unfolded
Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans tested Travers, deputising for the injured Kepa Arrizabalaga, inside the first quarter-hour as the hosts started well.
Travers remained busy as he kept out Amadou Onana’s header in the 23rd minute, before tipping an Ezri Konsa strike behind.
In between those chances, Villa captain John McGinn had the ball in the net when he curled a left-footed strike into the top corner, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review as Watkins failed to keep the ball in play in the build-up.
#AVLBOU – 27’ VAR OVERTURN
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) October 26, 2024
The referee’s call of goal for Aston Villa was checked by the VAR. As there was factual evidence that the ball was out of play in the build-up to the goal, the VAR recommended that the goal was disallowed. pic.twitter.com/tZKx9ziLZ8
Emery introduced Barkley and in-form striker Jhon Duran early in the second half as Travers continued his fine display between the sticks, making back-to-back saves to deny Pau Torres and Watkins around the hour mark.
Three of Villa’s substitutes combined for Villa’s opener as Ian Maatsen crossed the ball in towards Leon Bailey, who knocked it back for Barkley to turn it home.
Emery’s men thought that goal was enough to secure three points, but the Cherries had other plans.
Marcus Tavernier’s free-kick was glanced home by Evanilson in the sixth minute of added time as the two sides shared the spoils.
Villa held after another European night
Villa sit pretty at the top of the 36-team Champions League table after winning all three of their matches so far. But they’ve found it challenging to maintain their level when returning to domestic action after those impressive European nights.
After the win against Young Boys, Emery's side needed a late comeback to earn three points against bottom side Wolves, while they had to settle for a goalless draw against Manchester United following the defeat of Bayern Munich.
Emery made more changes on Saturday than on the previous two occasions, with Watkins replacing Duran up top and Matty Cash, Konsa, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey all coming into the side that beat Bologna on Tuesday.
They had three substitutes contribute to their opener, but failed to register a win again – meaning they have only won once in their last four Premier League outings.
With the matches coming thick and fast, Emery’s side will need to learn the art of juggling domestic and European competitions if they are to keep pushing for a top-four finish in the league this campaign.
Bournemouth impress again
Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert were on target as the Cherries inflicted a first defeat of the season on 10-man Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium last week, earning the third win of their league campaign.
And Iraola’s men managed to keep the momentum going as they showed tremendous character to earn a point against an impressive side at Villa Park.
The Cherries had their goalkeeper Travers to thank for keeping them in the match with a string of spectacular saves, but the visitors also managed to keep Villa custodian Emiliano Martinez on his toes at the other end.
The Argentina goalkeeper had to keep out long-range efforts from Kluivert and Dango Ouattara, but had no answer to Evanilson’s header at the death.
However, the Cherries will need to convert these draws into wins soon as they have only won three times in 14 Premier League matches this calendar year.
What the managers said
Unai Emery: "For the last 10 minutes, we didn't control it. Of course we deserved to win but we have to accept it. It is painful. We played a fantastic match in the first half and even in the first 30 minutes of the second half we played well, scored one goal and created chances. The goalkeeper saved a lot of chances for them."
Andoni Iraola: "I don't feel we played well, but we competed well. We faced a very good team and they started better than us. It was difficult. It is always nice when you have a point at the end, in the last minute of the game."
Club reports
Aston Villa report | Bournemouth report
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Villa have failed to win each of their last three Premier League home matches when scoring the first goal, having won their previous 17 such matches in a row beforehand. The Villans dropped their first points from a winning position at home this season.
Evanilson scored Bournemouth’s second-latest (95min 43sec) Premier League goal after Junior Stanislas's 98th-minute equaliser against Everton in November 2015, while it is their latest-ever away from home.
Barkley scored his first Premier League goal for Villa since January 2021 (v Southampton), while its his first home goal in the competition since December 2023 for Luton (v Chelsea). Indeed three of his last four home league goals for English sides have put his side ahead in the match.
There were seven yellow cards shown in the first half between Villa and Bournemouth, no Premier League match has ever seen more in the first 45 minutes, while its the first time we’ve seen this happen more than once in a season, after Spurs v Arsenal in September.
