Burnley vs Aston Villa. Premier League.
Turf Moor.
Report and free match highlights as Jack Grealish scores for the first time in eight Premier League games; Burnley mount second-half comeback to register a third successive victory in all competitions; Chris Wood scored fourth goal in five league starts against Aston Villa
Wednesday 27 January 2021 23:40, UK
Chris Wood's late header secured a 3-2 comeback victory for Burnley, with Aston Villa twice letting a lead slip at Turf Moor.
Burnley went into the game having shocked Liverpool at Anfield in their last Premier League outing, but were hit with a blow early on when Ollie Watkins (14) deftly turned home early on.
Aston Villa will rue a string of missed chances in an eye-catching first half, with Ben Mee's (52) header levelling things up shortly after the break. The ever-impressive Jack Grealish (68) scored for the first time in eight Premier League games to fire Villa back ahead, but they were pegged back again when Dwight McNeil's cross squirmed home at the back post (76).
Burnley completed their second-half comeback three minutes later with another header, this time from Chris Wood (79), who has now scored in four of his five league starts against Aston Villa.
Sean Dyche's side have now won their last three games in all competitions and continue to pull away from the relegation places, now into 15th with 22 points. Aston Villa drop a place into 10th but with two games in hand over several sides above them.
There were openings for both sides early on. Ezri Konsa nodded an Aston Villa corner wide before Emiliano Martinez collected a welcoming cross from Erik Pieters. Burnley went close again as McNeil's superb long ball picked out Jay Rodriguez, but his flicked header was sent over the crossbar by Robbie Brady.
After sending a shot straight at Nick Pope just before, Watkins' deft finish saw Aston Villa ahead in the 14th minute. Brady initially did well to keep Grealish at bay across the top of the area, but the Villa captain changed tack, instead slipping in Matt Targett on the left. He fired in a cross, with Watkins wriggling in front of Mee before guiding the ball into the back of the net.
The goal galvanised Aston Villa and they had a number of huge chances to add another in the final minutes of the half. A superb forward ball from John McGinn picked out Watkins in the area. Again, he was ahead of Mee but Pope came racing off his line to smother the effort and send Watkins to the floor. The loose ball then landed to Ross Barkley on the left, but he hammered his effort off the crossbar. Just after, Bertrand Traore saw a thunderous shot blocked by Mee before Tyrone Mings fired the rebound straight at Pope on a tight angle.
Aston Villa began the second half in a similar vein, but it was Burnley who equalised early on. Mee redeemed himself after allowing Watkins to move ahead of him for the opening goal, rising above the pack to nod home Ashley Westwood's corner.
Both sides worked the opposition goalkeepers as they hunted for the next goal. Grealish made a sensational run from a Martinez pass, dancing past three Burnley players before firing an effort straight at Pope. At the other end, Martinez made an acrobatic, leaping save to deny Wood.
But Grealish was thoroughly deserving of his goal as he fired Aston Villa back ahead. Unsurprisingly, he helped create the goal too, picking up the ball in midfield before taking a few strides and picking out Douglas Luiz to his left. It was a neat give-and-go between the two as Grealish slotted home from close range.
However, the Burnley comeback was only just starting. It was a strange equalising goal from McNeil but one that he will certainly appreciate. Pieters picked out the forward on the left and he sent in what looked to be a cross into the area, but it evaded the waiting pack before wriggling home at the far post to once again see the hosts level.
Shortly after and Wood won it for Burnley. After scoring just minutes earlier, McNeil turned provider as he fired a cross in - much higher this time - and Wood darted in front of Matt Targett to nod home for another goal against Aston Villa and his fourth Premier League goal of the season.
Dean Smith only made his first changes after Burnley had gone ahead but they were not enough as Burnley dug in to seal another vital three points
It was another hugely impressive performance from Grealish, even if he ended up on the losing team. He was once again Aston Villa's creative spark and in their dominant first half, created the most chances of any player (4).
Many times, Burnley were unable to stop his driving runs, epitomised in the second half when he all too easily glided into the area. He deserved his goal too, helping to set it up before turning home Douglas Luiz's cross.
Grealish ended up with three shots - all on target - and making five key passes, which was the highest of the game. He also had 38 passes in the opposition half, although it will be bittersweet after Burnley's second half comeback.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith said after the game: "Again, he's one of the standouts tonight. The one run he made was incredible and if he had scored at the end of that, it probably would have been goal of the season. His contribution to the team is there for all to see."
Burnley manager Sean Dyche said: "Aston Villa were excellent in the first half, by far the better team. I know they've had a trickier run than they did earlier in the season, they looked more confident with the ball and had a good shape without it. We didn't really ask too many questions and they did.
"But our diligence saw us through the half well, although it was a soft goal from our point of view. Pope made a couple of big saves and we stayed in it. At half-time, I said to the players that I didn't think they could be as strong in the second half and we could be miles better. There was no shouting or screaming, just pointing out what I thought was the obvious.
"The second half had a completely different feel to it. We got on the front foot without possession and then playing when we could with possession. The mentality to see a game through and do what you need to do to win, we've never been short of that.
"We had to get back to the defending and attacking balance. Our defending came back to us and we started doing better without defensive shape and now we're beginning to find that balance again which we've found many times. It's not a given for us, we have to continue to work hard at it… I felt if we could do the diligent things often enough, these guys [the centre forwards] have done a good job for us statistically over the years and will score again. I'm pleased to see they are and now we're getting goals from elsewhere."
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith said: "The word I've used is 'disbelief'. By half-time, we should have won the game, it should have out of sight with the chances we created. We should have been at least three goals up at half-time and it would've been game over.
"I've said to the players that it's a difficult league to win in, but we've thrown three points away today with really poor defending and basic errors.
"They hit diagonals, they put balls in behind us and we coped with it but then they get a set-piece. We spoke about it before, it's one of the main ways they're going to try and score goals. Burnley showed more desire. Zonal markers never attacked it as well as they did and then they get back into the game.
"We then show our quality to get the second and put ourselves into the lead but then we don't defend again - there's a bit of fortune because it's a cross - and we don't defend a hopeful cross into the box and it goes in. That can happen if you're not on it all the time.
"I can't say I've been disappointed with these players this season too often, but certainly disappointed today because we didn't do our job to keep three points and we certainly should be going back to Birmingham with a win."
Burnley face Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League; kick-off 12pm. For Aston Villa, they travel to Southampton on Saturday evening, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm.
