"the Aston Villa manager turned to caps lock. THIS MATCH IS CRUCIAL, he said, spying an opportunity. After Arsenal and Manchester City dropped points, a golden chance to return second and cut the leaders' advantage to four points. Everton, however, had other ideas and approaching the hour Thierno Barry pounced on a Emiliano Martinez fumble after a Pau Torres lapse to condemn Villa to a punishing defeat."
"Villa seemed to quickly run out of ideas and the galling thing was that in Turin, two days after Donyell Malen was permitted to join Roma, a player who operated as a super-sub for much of his time at the club, scored 26 minutes into his Serie A debut, that game being played almost in parallel to Villa's disappointing defeat."
Aston Villa entered the match with an opportunity to move into second after rivals dropped points, but Everton seized control late. Thierno Barry scored following an Emiliano Martinez fumble that resulted from a Pau Torres lapse, condemning Villa to a rare home defeat. Early signs were ominous as Merlin Rohl hit a post inside 11 seconds and John McGinn was forced off after 18 minutes, disrupting Villa further. Boubacar Kamara faces a long-term absence and Amadou Onana missed out with a hamstring issue. Villa created chances but failed to convert, and Everton celebrated a major triumph.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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