Late goal flurry earns Villa 3-1 win over Palace
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Late goal flurry earns Villa 3-1 win over Palace
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Late strikes from Jhon Duran, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey earned Aston Villa a 3-1 comeback win over Crystal Palace in an entertaining Premier League match on Saturday.
Palace had looked on course for their first win at Villa Park since 2013, but the hosts scored three times after the 87th minute to turn the game on its head.
Villa climbed two places in the standings from 10th to eighth on seven points, one behind seventh-placed Palace.
"It was great to be fair. We hoped to be really strong at home. In the Premier League you need to be strong at home," Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez told the BBC.
"We are creating a winning mentality at home. We couldn't score in the first half but we kept going forward and won at the end of the day."
Villa came close to scoring on several occasions in the first half, but were unable to break the deadlock.
They were almost gifted the lead in the 19th minute as Ollie Watkins pounced on a loose back-pass and had a tame effort saved by Sam Johnstone, before Moussa Diaby had a goal ruled offside by VAR.
Palace upped the tempo after the break and hit Villa with a sucker punch when striker Odsonne Edouard pounced, firing home Jean-Philippe Mateta's cross in the 47th minute.
The visitors, playing without unwell manager Roy Hodgson on the touchline, spurned chances to kill the game off with Martinez twice denying Eberechi Eze and Joel Ward missing a header from point-blank range.
They were made to rue their profligacy in the 87th minute by Duran, who chested down a cross from Lucas Digne and unleashed a thunderous half-volley to level.
Villa went ahead eight minutes into added time when Luiz scored for the fourth straight home league game, firing home a spot-kick after Chris Richards brought down Watkins.
The decision appeared harsh, with Richards also winning the ball, and the penalty was awarded following a lengthy VAR check and a visit to the pitch-side monitor.
"It killed it for us... Under the pressure, it's gone the wrong way," Palace defender Ward said.
"It's a tough and bitter pill to swallow, certainly that big decision went against us."
Palace's misery was complete after Bailey finished off a rapid counter-attack.
Palace host Fulham on Saturday and Villa next travel to Poland to face Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
