Goals at either end of the match were all Aston Villa needed to register a fourth unbeaten Premier League match on the bounce, inflicting Bournemouth’s 10th away defeat of the season – the highest of any side in the league.
It took less than 10 minutes for Aston Villa to score a maiden first-half goal in six meetings against the afternoon’s visitors, as Douglas Luiz loitered into the Bournemouth area and tapped home an easy finish following Leon Bailey’s low delivery.
Gary O’Neil’s side was picked apart with that move, but after a lengthy period on the back foot, Bournemouth gathered themselves and eventually threatened the Villans from Dominic Solanke’s effort.
Villa’s Ollie Watkins then retaliated with a shot of his own, which was brilliantly closed down by Cherries goalkeeper Neto to avoid increasing the deficit.
Remarkably, the hosts were denied what looked like a certain penalty minutes before HT, after Jack Stephens deflected a goal-bound shot with his hand, only for VAR to instruct Robert Jones to wave play on, leaving the home crowd utterly shocked.
Perhaps motivated by the unfavorable judgment, the Villans continued to mount pressure with the onset of the second period.
But it was Philip Billing who came agonizingly close to the leveler from a thunderous free-kick, forcing Emiliano Martínez to leap like a salmon to guard his side’s narrow lead.
Minutes later, Solanke wasted a clear one-on-one opportunity, but not before yet another contentious penalty appeal from Unai Emery’s men for an apparent handball was turned down by match officials.
The Cherries were eventually punished for their shortcomings, with Jacob Ramsey culminating an impressive solo move with a not-so-clinical finish before Emiliano Buendía killed the game with a header two minutes from FT.
Despite decisions going against them, Villa Park was ultimately treated to a first H2H win in five matches, charging their momentum for a first PL top-half finish since 2010/11. In stark contrast, the league’s worst defense succumbed to yet another away defeat, as Bournemouth continue their struggles towards the bottom of the league table.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login