Dubai: Everton’s impressive start to the season came to a crashing end at Villa Park tonight as Aston Villa scored three second-half goals in a nine minute spell.
The Toffees were one of only five Premier League teams still unbeaten before today’s games but Rafa Benitez’s side were undone in the second period of the match.
Close call
They almost took the lead in the 65th minute when Andros Townsend surged to the edge of the area and played a good square pass to Demarai Gray. The winger used a defender as a screen and curled a right-footed shot that flashed just wide of the far post.
A tight game came alive when Leon Bailey was introduced after an hour. He was only on the field for 21 minutes before going off with a thigh injury, but in that time he forced an own goal from Lucas Digne and smashed Villa’s third. Matty Cash had belted home the first and then the own goal sealed the win before Bailey raced clear to put some gloss on the win.
After a slow start by Dean Smith’s side, Villa have now moved up to 10th in the table while Everton drop to fifth. It was a disappointing night for the Blues who were without four key players.
