Ollie Watkins spared Aston Villa's blushes as they rallied to earn a 1-1 draw with 10-man Ipswich Town on Saturday.
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Axel Tuanzebe, who had three separate loan spells with Villa between 2018 and 2022, was sent off on his return to Villa Park after receiving two yellow cards in the first half.
Ipswich had their work cut out from then on, but they took a surprise lead early in the second half when Liam Delap beat Emiliano Martinez with a clever near-post finish.
A victory would have taken Ipswich level on points with 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League table, but Watkins broke their resolve on the rebound after half-time substitute Marcus Rashford struck the woodwork from a free-kick.
While Ipswich remain in the relegation zone, they leapfrog Leicester City to go 18th on goal difference. Villa drop one place to ninth, six points off the top four.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
25 | -19 | 19 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
25 | -27 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
25 | -30 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
25 | -38 | 9 |
How the match unfolded
Villa failed to turn their dominance of possession into chances until the 35th minute, when Watkins broke in behind but could only prod wide on the stretch.
Six minutes later, Ipswich were a man down. Having already been booked, Tuanzebe felled Jacob Ramsey in full flight, giving referee Robert Jones no choice but to produce a second yellow card.
Morgan Rogers was denied by Alex Palmer as Villa laid siege to the Ipswich area, but the visitors stunned Villa Park with a 56th-minute opener.
Omari Hutchinson crossed low from the right, and Delap applied a delicate flick to send the ball fizzing into the far corner.
But Villa continued to press and finally levelled in the 69th minute. Rashford rattled the crossbar with a brilliant free-kick from 25 yards out, and the ball dropped for a grateful Watkins to tap home.
Marco Asensio squandered two good chances to win it for Villa, then Palmer made a heroic save to deny Rogers deep into stoppage time as Ipswich held on to their point.
Contrasting fortunes for Villa new boys
Making his first Premier League appearance for Villa as a half-time substitute, since his loan move from Manchester United, Rashford wasted no time in getting the home fans off their seats, stinging Palmer's hands with a curling shot.
Though Rashford will have to wait for his first Villa goal, he played a central role in Watkins' equaliser. His wonderful dead-ball strike rattled the angle of post and crossbar, with Palmer's dive leaving him powerless to react when Watkins tucked the rebound home.
Fellow loanee Asensio was also thrown on by Unai Emery as Villa attempted to complete the turnaround, but the Spaniard failed to convert two big chances in the dying stages, blazing wildly over before forcing a save from the outstanding Palmer.
Villa certainly emerged from the mid-season transfer window with increased depth, and Rashford's performance was a major positive here.
However, they are now winless in four games, and their new boys must adapt quickly ahead of next week's meetings with Liverpool and Chelsea.
Debut to remember for Palmer
Ipswich travelled to Villa Park on a four-match losing streak in the Premier League, having conceded a total of 14 goals in defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester City, Liverpool and Southampton.
Defensive lapses had cost Kieran McKenna's men dearly in recent weeks, and they could not afford any more mistakes on a ground where Villa had won 23 of their 38 points this year.
With Christian Walton injured and Arijanet Muric having lost the backing of McKenna, Palmer became the third goalkeeper to start a Premier League match for Ipswich in 2024/25, having arrived from West Bromwich Albion on transfer deadline day.
He survived a nervy moment two minutes in, rushing from his area to challenge Ramsey just avoiding contact in the box.
Tuanzebe's sending off ensured Palmer would be busy, but he stood up to the challenge.
He made six saves in a Player-of-the-Match performance, with the pick of the bunch being an acrobatic stop to deny Rogers’ deflected effort late on to preserve Ipswich’s point.
Ipswich have lacked consistency between the sticks, and Palmer may have to provide just that if they are to stave off relegation. Up next for McKenna's men is a home encounter with Tottenham Hotspur.
Club reports
Aston Villa report | Ipswich report
What the managers said
Unai Emery: "The match we deserved to win, when it was 11v11 it was very difficult. They were being man to man and being very aggressive. We had some very good chances for Ollie Watkins and we needed to be clinical.
"In 90 minutes we were being positive and when they had the sending off, we really were dominating. We conceded one easy goal and to come back with the result it was difficult but we had the chances to do it, we had the chances to win but at the end they defend very well and they deserve the draw."
Kieran McKenna: "Yes, against a really good side, away from home and especially with the circumstances of the game. To go down to 10 men and perform how we did. We would have loved to win, but it took an incredible free kick and the ball to ricochet right to their player to hold us to a draw. A great squad effort."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
The last three Premier League meetings between Villa and Ipswich have all finished level after the Villans had won each of the previous five, with this being the first top-flight draw between the sides at Villa Park since December 1982 (also 1-1).
Villa are now unbeaten across their last 12 Premier League home games (W6 D6) since losing their first home game of the season 0-2 to Arsenal, who are the only side on a longer ongoing unbeaten home run in the competition (15).
Villa have now gained 14 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, the fourth-most of any side, while Ipswich have dropped 19 points from winning positions, with only Southampton (20) and Tottenham Hotspur (21) having dropped more.
Watkins scored his 70th Premier League goal for Villa, becoming just the second player to do so for the Villans after Gabriel Agbonlahor (74); it was his 38th Premier League goal at Villa Park specifically, overtaking Dwight Yorke (37) as Villa’s top goalscorer at home.
