Douglas Luiz scored a dramatic late penalty as Aston Villa edged a five-goal thriller against 10-man Burnley to move level on points with leaders Liverpool.
Leon Bailey’s opener was cancelled out by Zeki Amdouni, and after Moussa Diaby had restored Villa’s lead, Lyle Foster equalised for a Burnley team who had lost Sander Berge to a second booking.
But substitute Jhon Duran won a spot-kick that Douglas Luiz converted in the 89th minute to secure Villa’s first win in three matches.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +13 | 66 |
TV Info - Broadcasters
How the match unfolded
Unai Emery made two changes to the side who lost from 2-0 up at Old Trafford in midweek. Alex Moreno and Diaby replaced Lucas Digne and Leander Dendoncker. Vincent Kompany made one change from defeat at Turf Moor, Johann Gudmundsson replacing Mike Tresor.
Villa quickly asserted their dominance and their pressure paid off in the 28th minute, as Ollie Watkins drifted infield and spread the ball wide to Bailey who cut in from the right and fired a deflected shot high into the net.
Burnley responded quickly. Gudmundsson’s floated free-kick was met by Dara O’Shea at the far post. He headed across goal for Amdouni to stab home for his third goal of the season.
The momentum was with the visitors and Foster thought he had put Burnley ahead, latching on to a ball in behind Villa’s high line and slotting beyond Emiliano Martinez, but the forward was marginally offside.
With only a few minutes remaining of the first half, Villa’s lead was restored.
Watkins was again at the heart of the move, running on to a pass over the top before cutting a low ball back that was tucked away by Diaby for his fourth goal of the campaign.
Despite an encouraging start to the second half, Burnley’s task was made harder when in the 55th minute they were reduced to 10 men when Berge was shown a second yellow card for a pull on Douglas Luiz.
Shortly after the hour-mark came a flurry of chances for Villa to extend their lead. John McGinn forced James Trafford into a strong low save with his shot from range before the young goalkeeper was called into action to parry a follow-up from Diaby.
Moments later Villa came close again, Jacob Ramsey shooting over from close range from Ezri Konsa’s low cross.
Chances continued to come for the hosts, Diaby again finding himself at the end of another well worked move, but his curling shot was just wide.
Much against the run of play, Burnley hit back to punish Villa for their wastefulness in front of goal. A long goal kick was flicked on by Gudmundsson to Foster who held off several Villa defenders and fired past Martinez at his near post.
With just minutes remaining of the 90, the hosts were presented with a golden opportunity to take the lead for a third time when Aston Villa academy graduate Aaron Ramsey, who now plays for Burnley, caught second-half substitute Duran in the penalty box. Following a significant delay, Douglas Luiz stepped up and fired home from the spot via the underside of the bar to seal the points.
Emery’s side move up to second on 42 points while Burnley remain in 19th with 11 points.
Aston Villa report | Burnley report
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -11 | 40 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
38 | -9 | 39 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
38 | -33 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
38 | -37 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
38 | -69 | 16 |
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Aston Villa have won more home Premier League games (17) and earned more home points (53) in 2023 than any other side.
Ollie Watkins has been directly involved in 32 Premier League goals in 2023 (21 goals, 11 assists). It’s the most by an Aston Villa player in a calendar year in the competition, while only Mohamed Salah (39) and Erling Haaland (38) have more this year.
No team have received more red cards than Burnley's four this season. Indeed, 31 per cent of their total reds in the competition have come in 2023/24 (four of 13).
Burnley have lost 15 of their first 20 matches to a league season for the first time (W3 D2). Before this season, each of the three teams to lose at least 15 of their first 20 Premier League matches were all relegated – Sunderland in 2005/06, Derby in 2007/08 and Sheffield United in 2020/21 (the Blades have also lost 15 matches this season).
