A resurgent Aston Villa beat Burnley 3-1 at Turf Moor in the Premier League today, halting the home side’s mini-revival under interim manager Mike Jackson with goals from Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins.
Buendia sent Ings through on goal with a precise pass with seven minutes on the clock, and the former Burnley striker made no mistake as he slotted home past Nick Pope.
Villa doubled their lead in the 31st minute after Watkins combined with Lucas Digne, who cut the ball back across the box for Buendia to score via a slight deflection.
Burnley had won their last three league games under Jackson but were made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal, with Wout Weghorst and Dwight McNeil guilty of missing chances in the first half.
Burnley lost their captain James Tarkowski to an injury shortly after the restart and things got worse for them when Watkins headed in Villa’s third from point-blank range in the 52nd minute, after meeting John McGinn’s superb cross.
Substitute Maxwel Cornet pulled a consolation goal back for Burnley in the 91st minute.
Burnley remain in 16th place on 34 points but could find themselves back in the relegation zone if Arsenal fail to beat Leeds United and Everton beat Leicester City on Sunday. The win moved Villa provisionally up to 11th place.
Watford down
Meanwhile, Watford were relegated from the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace as Wilfried Zaha’s first-half penalty soured former manager Roy Hodgson’s return to Selhurst Park.
Palace were awarded a penalty following a VAR check for handball by Hassane Kamara and Zaha stepped up to slot home his 13th goal of the season after sending Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster the wrong way.
The visitors needed a win and a mathematical swing to keep alive their dwindling hopes of surviving the drop but their timid display meant Palace comfortably kept Watford at arm’s length.
Wolves captain Conor Coady headed a dramatic 97th-minute equaliser to deny Chelsea victory on the day the sale of the club was agreed.
Romelu Lukaku looked to have secured victory for the Blues with two goals in three second-half minutes.
But Wolves substitute Francisco Trincao pulled one back with a spectacular effort 11 minutes from time and Coady headed in to level seven minutes into added time.
