EPL: Aston Villa secure huge win at Burnley
Aston Villa beat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor on New Year’s Day as Dean Smith‘s side put in a battling display to grab a crucial three points.
First half goals from Wesley and the superb Jack Grealish were enough to win it for Villa, who had Wesley and goalkeeper Tom Heaton stretchered off late in the game. Chris Wood pulled one back for Burnley but it wasn’t enough as Villa secured their second win in their last three Premier League games.
Jack Grealish produced an influential performance as Aston Villa climbed out of the relegation zone after securing their second away win of the season with a 2-1 victory at Burnley.
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 1, 2020
With the win Villa move on to 21 points as the relegation scrap is now wild, as Burnley sit just three points above them on 24.
In a tough battle Grealish took an early whack from Jack Cork in midfield as Villa dug deep early on.
From a corner Burnley could only have clear and Konsa crossed for Grealish to head home but VAR intervened to first check a foul and then offside in the build up, as Wesley’s heel (half of it) was offside and the goal was ruled out.
Grealish then played in Wesley who was denied by Nick Pope and Burnley’s goalkeeper kept out Douglas Luiz‘s effort on the rebound.
Dwight McNeil and Chris Wood were off target for Burnley as the hosts struggled to impose themselves on the game.
Villa got the goal their dominance deserved as Grealish and Wesley combined to see the latter squeeze an effort past Pope and in to make it 1-0 and score his first PL goal in almost three months.
Before half time Grealish scored a stunner to double Villa’s lead as their star man cut inside and smashed home to delight the away fans at Turf Moor.
Villa should have wrapped up the win at the start of the second half but Luiz shot straight at Pope, as Burnley brought on Jay Rodriguez at the break to try and get things going in attack.
Rodriguez had a shot deflected wide from a corner then somehow knocked James Tarkowski‘s cross over from close range.
Burnley dominated and peppered the Villa goal as Heaton flapped at a cross which flew just wide.
Kortney Hause couldn’t make the most of a glorious effort at one end then Chris Wood fired wide at the other and Tyrone Mings then stopped him going clean through as the game opened up.
It wasn't a happy start to the New Year for the Clarets, who opened 2020 with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Turf Moor. #twitterclarets #AVFC #BURAVLhttps://t.co/OvuEGXs38p
— Burnley Express (@BurnleyExpress) January 1, 2020
Read Also: Brighton vs Chelsea: Jahanbakhsh nets stunning equalizer against Blues
Wesley was carried off on a stretcher late on after suffering a nasty injury in a huge blow for Villa.
Then it got worse as Wood got his goal late on with a fine header to set up a tense finale.
Former Burnley goalkeeper Heaton was then carried off on a stretcher as he was struggling with a leg injury throughout but Villa held on for a huge win despite late pressure from Burnley.