Aston Villa - Bournemouth
Goals at either end of the match was 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 were 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 unfavourable judgement, the Villans continued to mount pressure with the onset of the second period. But it was Philip Billing who came agonisingly close to the leveller 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 defence succumbed to yet another away defeat, as Bournemouth continue their struggles at the bottom of the league table.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
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Brentford - Leicester
Brentford’s hopes of a maiden European season suffered a disappointing hit as Leicester City claimed a point at the Gtech Community Stadium. Nonetheless, the Bees impressive home record remains intact, having lost just one Premier League (PL) home game this season (W7, D6, L1).
Brendan Rodgers would have been reasonably content with his side’s start to the contest, successfully keeping Brentford at bay during the opening half-hour. However, an inventive set-piece undid that good work when Mathias Jensen’s snapshot deflected past a helpless Daniel Iversen to put the Bees ahead. The Foxes soon found themselves under relentless pressure as Brentford searched for a second, but found their footing late in the half, keeping hopes of a turnaround alive despite an underwhelming first-half attacking display.
It took less than 10 second-half minutes for the visitors to muster up a response, levelling the scores when James Maddison picked out Harvey Barnes, who kept his composure to poke past Raya. The Foxes certainly had their tails up after the break and looked well-poised to end a run of five consecutive competitive defeats, pressing for a winner. The contest remained in the balance as the clock ran down with either side looking capable of snatching a dramatic winner.
A captivating encounter remained engaging until the final whistle with a late red card for Shandon Baptiste only adding to the drama. Ultimately, Leicester claimed a valuable point in their pursuit of PL survival, keeping them one point above the drop zone. Having taken the lead, a point for Brentford may sadly feel like two points dropped for the European-chasing Bees.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harry Souttar (Leicester City)
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Southampton - Tottenham
Southampton secured a vital point in their pursuit of Premier League (PL) survival, as a last-gasp penalty from James Ward-Prowse earned a dramatic 3-3 draw against top-four chasing Tottenham Hotspur, who have secured just one victory from their last five matches in all competitions.
Coming into the contest having suffered consecutive defeats to Wolves and Leicester in their two previous PL away trips, Spurs knew a positive start was needed against their struggling opponents. However, it was Southampton who edged a closely-fought opening half-hour, with Ward-Prowse firing the hosts' best opportunity wastefully wide of the target.
Spurs gradually gained an upper hand in proceedings as the first half progressed, and duly took the lead on the stroke of HT. Son Heung-min showed impressive vision to pick out the marauding run of Pedro Porro, and the Spaniard took one touch to compose himself before firing a powerful close-range strike beyond Gavin Bazunu to give the visitors a timely breakthrough.
Southampton emerged after the restart eager to claw their way back into the contest, and found an immediate response within 45 seconds, as Ché Adams tucked home from Theo Walcott’s low delivery. Buoyed by the equaliser, the hosts looked to capitalise on their momentum going into the final 30 minutes, but Spurs continued to provide a threat at the other end, and it was the visitors who regained the lead in the 65th minute, when Harry Kane rose highest in the box to direct Dejan Kulusevski’s cross into the roof of the net.
Spurs extended their advantage 10 minutes later through a clinical strike from Ivan Perišić which initially appeared to kill the contest. The Saints were defiant however, and immediately reduced the deficit to just a single goal, as former-Arsenal player Theo Walcott slotted beyond Fraser Forster to set up a tantalising finale. Southampton went in pursuit of a late leveller and were given a golden opportunity in stoppage time, when Pape Sarr tripped Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Ward-Prowse stepped up and confidently fired his spot-kick into the top corner, earning the hosts a dramatic share of the spoils with Spurs players in disbelief.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pedro Porro (Tottenham Hotspur)
See stats from the match at Flashscore
Wolves - Leeds
In an enthralling Premier League affair, Leeds United battled to a 4-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers to mark a first Premier League away win since October and at least temporarily drag themselves out of the drop zone.
With rain drenching the West Midlands, the visitors knew time was running out if they were to avoid a top-flight demotion for the first time since 2003/04, so it was no surprise to see Javi Gracia’s fired up troops burst out of the traps searching for an early lead. Their efforts would pay dividends inside ten minutes, as Wilfried Gnonto defied the difficult conditions by charging into the box and squaring for Jack Harrison who made no mistake from 12 yards.
Wolves’ strong response to that blow saw Nélson Semedo’s penalty appeals waved away before Illan Meslier had to be smart to thwart Daniel Podence from inside the area. And as a rainbow stretched over Molineux, the hosts came so close to hitting the jackpot as some superb build-up play resulted in pinball inside Leeds’ area with Semedo’s subsequent effort blocked on the line. Despite Wolves’ overwhelming dominance it was Gracia who probably felt lucky as the half-time whistle blew, with his side fortunates leaders.
Julen Lopetegui's side had transferred their dominance into the second period and they saw a goal ruled out for offside just minutes after the restart. Perhaps their intensity caught up with them as Leeds struck a sucker punch though, with the Wolves backline sleeping as Luke Ayling nodded back across the goal and into the net. Rasmus Kristensen then made it three for his side when he slid through the legs of José Sá after wriggling free in the box, for a goal which initially appeared to kill the contest. Perhaps conditions were to blame for a quite remarkable Wolves goal that followed just minutes later however, as Meslier’s risky headed clearance culminated in Jonny lobbing him from all of 40 yards.
A back-and-forth finale ensued and the visitors’ dams threatened to burst on multiple occasions before Matheus Cunha’s 74th-minute effort found the net with help from a deflection. Decibels rose in the stadium with Wolves now after blood, though Jonny appeared to take that sentiment a little too literally when he crashed into Ayling with his sliding challenge. His subsequent red card took the steam out of Wolves and their fans, allowing Rodrigo to add the icing on the cake for Leeds’ travelling fans with his composed finish securing a victory that propels Leeds out of the relegation zone. Matheus Nunes was then shown a red card for an incident off the pitch, summing up a disappointing afternoon for Wolves.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jack Harrison (Leeds United)
