Marc Guehi’s second-half stunner led Crystal Palace to their first win of the Premier League season as they comfortably beat Aston Villa 3-0.
Guehi picked out the top-right corner in the 68th minute with a brilliant curling finish on what could be his last outing for Palace, amid rumours of a switch to Liverpool
Oliver Glasner’s side silenced the background noise in style, taking the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty after Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot tripped Daichi Kamada.
And Guehi’s excellent strike was followed up by Ismaila Sarr’s header 12 minutes from time, ending their hosts’ impressive 19-match unbeaten run at Villa Park.
The result sees Palace stay unbeaten in 2025/26 after their first three matches, moving up to eighth. Villa, meanwhile, are down in 19th on one point.
How the match unfolded
After a strong start, Villa almost found themselves a man down after Matty Cash clumsily caught Kamada late, but the original decision of a yellow card stood despite a VAR review.
Kamada, however, dusted himself down to help put Palace in front in the 21st minute, with the midfielder tripped in the box by a sprawling Bizot, allowing Mateta to coolly slot home the resulting penalty.
And with their first real attempt, Unai Emery’s side almost got themselves level just before half-time, but Ollie Watkins’ effort was thwarted at point-blank range by Dean Henderson.
Villa improved in the final third after the break but were unable to find a way through, and they were hit with a sucker punch on the counter when Guehi curled the ball beyond Bizot’s grasp.
It got even better for Palace late on, with Jefferson Lerma’s long throw-in flicked on by Maxence Lacroix for Sarr to nod home at the back post to seal all three points.
Villa struggle at both ends
The pre-match build-up for Villa centred on the news of Emiliano Martinez’s omission from the matchday squad, amid media reports of a mooted transfer to Manchester United ahead of Monday’s deadline, with his replacement Bizot enduring a mixed match between the sticks.
Bizot had kept a clean sheet on his Premier League debut in Villa’s goalless draw against Newcastle United, but he was picking the ball out of the net midway through the first half after timing his challenge on Kamada inside the box all wrong.
And at the other end, Villa lacked a real spark. Watkins twice tested Henderson in quick succession, though he saw both of his attempts at goal repelled by his England team-mate.
Villa showed signs of improvement early in the second half as Youri Tielemans and Watkins came close, but their profligacy in the final third proved costly, with Emery’s team now the only side in the Premier League yet to score a goal this season.
It is back to the drawing board for the Villa head coach as he aims to find the solutions during the upcoming international break in an attempt to try and spark his squad’s season into life, with a clash away to in-form Everton on 13 September up next.
Guehi leads by example for Palace
Despite Guehi being linked with a move to Premier League champions Liverpool, the England international featured from the off and was key in Palace's impressive away display.
Having survived a wave of early Villa pressure, Palace found their groove and deservedly took the lead through Mateta’s penalty.
They could have doubled their advantage soon after, too, but Sarr could only head Daniel Munoz’s cross over the bar.
And two goals in 10 second-half minutes from Guehi and Sarr put the result beyond doubt, with the former perhaps providing a fitting farewell to his four-year stint with the Eagles after putting in a captain’s performance.
There were also promising signs from Palace’s latest summer arrival Yeremy Pino, who embarked on a mazy run forward before sending Lerma on his way, but the Colombia international saw his late shot from a tight angle smothered by Bizot, though it mattered little in the end.
After back-to-back draws in their first two league matches of the season, Palace have laid a solid foundation to build on heading into the break, with Glasner’s men welcoming newly promoted Sunderland to Selhurst Park in Matchweek 4.
Club reports
Aston Villa report | Crystal Palace report
What the managers said
Unai Emery: "Frustrated yes, but we played the first half well and followed the game plan we were expecting and we were dominating the match. We were not creating good chances, we had one very good one with [Ollie] Watkins. But we were dominating."
Oliver Glasner: "One big chance in the first half and this is the quality of Villa. Honestly, we scored the goals in the right moments, so I am really pleased with this game today. It was our fifth game in two weeks and most of the players played every single game. Muscular injuries with Adam Wharton and Ismaïla Sarr."
Next fixtures
Key facts
Crystal Palace ended Aston Villa’s unbeaten home run at 22 matches across all competitions (W15 D7), with the home side’s last defeat before that run also coming against the Eagles in the EFL Cup in October 2024.
Aston Villa have failed to win any of their opening three matches of a league campaign for the first time since 2017/18 in the Championship. In the Premier League, they last failed to win any of their first three matches in 2012/13.
Crystal Palace are unbeaten across their last 14 matches across all competitions (W6 D8) – their longest ever run as a top-flight team in club history.
Since the start of 2025, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (13) has scored more goals than Crystal Palace forward Mateta (11) in the Premier League.