Aston Villa 3 - 0 Crystal Palace: Finished | 2020-12-26 | Premier League

Goalkeepers	G	GC	SAV
Emiliano Martínez	0	0	6

Forwards	G	GA	S	FC	FW
Ollie Watkins	0	1	7	1	2

Midfielders	G	S	FC	FW
John McGinn	0	0	2	3
Jack Grealish	0	1	1	5
Douglas Luiz 91'	0	0	3	1
Anwar El Ghazi 86' 76'	1	5	1	2
Bertrand Traoré 48' 5'	1	4	1	0

Defenders	G	S	FC	FW
Matthew Cash	0	0	6	0
Matt Targett	0	0	1	1
Kortney Hause 66'	1	1	0	0
Tyrone Mings	0	0	2	0

Substitutes	FC	FW
Ezri Konsa Ngoyo 48'(Bertrand Traoré)	0	2
Ahmed El Mohamady 86'(Anwar El Ghazi)	0	0
Jacob Ramsey 91'(Douglas Luiz)	0	0
Conor Hourihane	0	0
Keinan Davis	0	0
Frédéric Guilbert	0	0
Marvelous Nakamba	0	0
Neil Taylor	0	0
Tom Heaton	-	-

Goalkeepers	G	GC	SAV
Vicente Guaita	0	3	6

Forwards	G	GA	S	FC	FW
Christian Benteke	0	0	2	1	0
Wilfried Zaha	0	0	2	1	8

Midfielders	S	FC	FW
Eberechi Eze	3	1	2
Jeffrey Schlupp 82'	0	3	3
James McArthur 75'	0	2	0
Luka Milivojevic 69'	2	4	2

Defenders	S	FC	FW
Joel Ward	2	2	0
Patrick van Aanholt	0	0	1
Cheikhou Kouyaté	0	2	1
Scott Dann	1	0	0

Substitutes	S	FC	FW
Jairo Riedewald 69'(Luka Milivojevic)	1	0	0
Michy 75'(James McArthur)	0	0	0
Andros Townsend 82'(Jeffrey Schlupp)	0	0	0
Jordan Ayew	0	0	0
Nathaniel Clyne	0	0	0
James Tomkins	0	0	0
James McCarthy	0	0	0
Tyrick Mitchell	0	0	0
Jack Butland	0	-	-

90'+3'

That is all from this Premier League fixture, until next time!

90'+3'

Smith's men climb up to sixth and still have a game in hand on most of those around them. After a fourth consecutive clean sheet, next up for the Villans is the difficult challenge of a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. For Hodgson's side, who disappointed in this game, they sit in 13th and will host Leicester City next.

90'+3'

After going in 1-0 up at the break, courtesy of Traore's opener, it was expected that the second half would be one-way traffic due to Mings' first-half dismissal. However, the hosts came out the stronger of the two in the next 45, as goals from Hause and El Ghazi extended the Villans' lead to 3-0. Down the other end, despite seeing a lot of possession, Martinez was rarely troubled by the visitors, who lacked creativity for large parts of this game.

90'+3'

FULL-TIME: ASTON VILLA 3-0 CRYSTAL PALACE

90'+2'

Benteke backs into his man, using all his strength to swivel onto his left foot before shooting wide of goal from the corner of the six-yard area.

90'+1'

Youngster Ramsey gets some more game time as he comes on for the closing stages in place of the industrious Douglas Luiz.

90'

The fourth official suggests there will be three minutes of added time as Ward sends a right-footed effort well over the visitors' goal.

89'

Eze and Batshuayi link-up, with the former reaching the edge of the area and drilling a right-footed effort into Martinez's hands. Hodgson's men have created a few chances this game but they just cannot beat the Villa goalkeeper.

86'

A defensive change by Smith sees, scorer of the third goal, El Ghazi, brought off for El Mohamady.

86'

OFF THE BAR! Ward looks for Batshuayi and Benteke in the area but miscues his cross and ends up hitting the top of the bar. Despite the effort being accidental, Martinez was left scrambling and had no chance of keeping that one out, if it had fallen the other side of the bar.

85'

CHANCE! Riedewald opts to pass rather than shoot after Batshuayi's knock-down and feeds Eze, who cuts in on his right foot and shoots low to the left of Martinez. As has been the case all game, Villa's goalkeeper saves with relative ease as he looks to earn his fourth consecutive clean sheet.

83'

Eze mistimes his sliding tackle as he goes in late on Grealish, who had already released his pass well before Eze's tackle. Unsurprisingly, the Palace man goes into referee Taylor's book for the challenge.

82'

Townsend is Hodgson's next change and he will replace Schlupp in a like-for-like substitute.

81'

Ward produces a teasing delivery in between Hause and Martinez when looking for Benteke. The centre-back takes charge as he takes no chances and heads behind for a corner to the visitors.

80'

Riedewald sums up Palace's struggles in this game as he plays a simple pass out of play on the left-hand side. Targett then releases Watkins up top and, despite having the numerical disadvantage, it looks like Villa are the most likely of the two sides to add another goal.

78'

Hodgson’s team have won just one of their eight Premier League away games against Villa (D3 L4), beating them 1-0 in December 2013. Barring a miracle, that record is only going to get worse here.

76'

Watkins plays the simplest of passes back to El Ghazi, who does the rest as he whips a right-footed effort into the far corner to make it 3-0.

76'

GOALLL!! 3-0 VILLA! Grealish leads the counter-attack as he rolls in Watkins, whose first touch lets him down. The striker then recovers and plays it back to El Ghazi, who smashes a right-footed effort into the top left corner from the right of the area. That effort left Guaita with no chance and it seems like game over for the visitors.

75'

Hodgson rolls the dice once more as he throws on striker Batshuayi in place of McArthur.

73'

Both sets of players are starting to look a little weary, with Grealish almost playing at walking pace in possession on the left-hand side. This will suit the Villans' 10 men, however, Hodgson needs to change some thing to get the visitors back in the game here.

72'

Targett gets out to the byline to block Ward's cross out for a corner. Eze takes the set-piece but Martinez again claims and quickly releases for Grealish to start the counter-attack.

71'

Kouyate flattens Watkins as he towers over the striker to win a header and despite the Villa forward's protestations, referee Taylor waves play on. Ward then progresses down the right-hand side but his cross from deep is comfortably claimed by Martinez.

69'

Milivojevic, whose needless foul led to the hosts' second goal, is hooked off for Riedewald as the visitors look to find a way back into this game.

68'

Ward, perhaps in frustration, goes flying through the back of Grealish, leaving Taylor with no option but to book Palace's right-back.

66'

GOALLLL!! 2-0 VILLA! The resulting free-kick is swung in by El Ghazi towards Watkins, who hits the bar with his header from outside the six-yard area. Hause is then quickly onto the rebound as he heads over the line from close range. Guaita thinks he has clawed Hause's effort away, however, referee Taylor points to his watch to show the technology has confirmed the goal.

65'

El Ghazi coasts out to the right-hand side and Milivojevic comes out of nowhere to give away a needless free-kick, despite Van Aanholt seemingly having the situation under control.

64'

Captain Milivojevic tries to go low with his set-piece this time, however, Grealish is more than aware of the danger as he blocks behind the wall before it can trouble Martinez's near post.

63'

Cash is far too enthusiastic as he chops down Zaha to the left of the area, which offers the visitors a free-kick in a great position around 25 yards from goal.

62'

Schlupp crosses towards the area, where Benteke brings the cross down and swivels to shoot on his right foot. The Belgian's effort looks destined for Martinez's far post before being deflected behind. However, none of that will matter, as the assistant on the near side has got his flag up for offside.

61'

Smith’s men have kept seven Premier League clean sheets so far this season, more than any other side and as many as they kept in the whole of 2019-20. The Villans haven’t conceded in any of their last three Premier League games, last having a longer run of top-flight shutouts in February 2010 (4).

60'

Cash gets round his man on the right before driving a low cross to Watkins at the front post. The hosts' striker gets to the loose ball first, going round Dann but his touch races through to Guaita.

59'

Douglas Luiz clips one over the top of Van Aanholt for El Ghazi to chase. The Villa forward then cross towards Watkins, who heads downwards at the back post but the striker's effort gets blocked by Ward before Guaita collects.

58'

McArthur hacks through the back of Douglas Luiz, much to the fury of Grealish, who races into the face of the referee. After a few choice words, play resumes with El Ghazi receiving the short free-kick on the right-hand side.

56'

Grealish carries the Villans forward before Milivojevic bundles him over, earning the Palace captain a place in referee Taylor's book.

56'

Eze's free-kick looks for Dann at the back post but Martinez comes and claims with real authority as he towers over the visitors' centre-back.

55'

Schlupp slips as he winds up to shoot with his left from the edge of the area. Initially, Zaha had done excellently down the left to race to the byline and pull one back, however, Schlupp then failed to capitalise at the crucial moment.

53'

Targett does wonderfully to not only tackle Schlupp on the byline, but also win a goal-kick for the hosts as his challenge cannons back off the visitors' midfielder. Milivojevic then looks long for Benteke but Hause and Konsa dominate aerially. Hodgson's men do not need to go long yet, they surely have to get the ball down and play, making their numerical advantage count.

52'

Watkins does well for Smith's side as he holds up possession, inviting Kouyate to foul him and the centre-back duly obliges as he brings the striker down. If the hosts are to be successful this half, a lot of their play will rely on the experience and link-up play of Watkins, who will often be isolated up top on his own.

45'+5'

Given the sending off, the next 45 will likely not follow a similar pattern to the first half, which Smith's men dominated for large parts. The visitors will obviously chase this game and, given their numerical advantage, they may send on Townsend or Batshuayi in an attempt to unlock the hosts' defence. Villa will have to change their game plan too and they could look to Hourihane or Nakamba to protect their four-man defence.

51'

Guaita saves comfortably as El Ghazi shoots from distance straight into the hands of the Spaniard from 25 yards out. Down the other end, Zaha attempts to steer one towards the back post but Cash, with his arms behind his back, blocks the cross away from danger.

45'+5'

A quick start to this fixture saw chances fall to Zaha and Traore, however, it was the latter who converted his opportunity to open the scoring for the hosts. The majority of chances then fell to Smith's side, namely through El Ghazi, Traore and Watkins but none of the forwards could extend Villa's lead. A moment of madness from Mings, which saw him receive two yellow cards in six minutes, has left the hosts under pressure for the next 45, despite going in 1-0 up at half-time.

50'

The hosts win the first corner of this half, with Watkins' left-footed effort being deflected behind by Kouyate at the front post. El Ghazi directs a cross towards the six-yard area but the white Palace shirts head long and clear.

45'+5'

HALF-TIME: ASTON VILLA 1-0 CRYSTAL PALACE

49'

Zaha shows Hause the inside before going down the outside and around the centre-back. However, the Villa defender does well to recover and usher possession away from Zaha. Despite the Palace forward going down in the area, play carries on as referee Taylor deems there was nothing wrong with the challenge.

45'+4'

The visitors are patient in their approach before Eze spins one way then the other, unleashing a right-footed shot tamely into the grasps of Martinez in the middle of the hosts' net.

48'

It seems Smith has made more alterations at half-time, after Mings' red card, with Grealish moving from his central position to the left-hand side as the hosts line-up in a 4-4-1 formation.

45'+3'

The half-time whistle cannot come soon enough for Smith's men now, as they appear intent on dropping a bit deeper in an attempt to regroup with their 10 men. In fact, it looks like midfielder McGinn has dropped into centre-back until the hosts can make a change.

45'+3'

Traore, who will perhaps feel a bit harsh done by here, is the man sacrificed in order to bring on centre-back Konsa to partner Hause after Mings' dismissal.

47'

Palace have never scored more than once in 17 away league games against Villa (W3 D4 L10), netting 11 goals in total in that run. They will have to do so in this half if they are to leave Villa Park with three points.

45'+2'

Mings reluctantly wanders off the pitch as the fourth official indicates there will be four minutes of added time. Eze's free-kick then fails to reach the area before Milivojevic's deflected effort is saved by Martinez, diving high to his left.

46'

Both sets of players are back out at Villa Park and the referee gets this Premier League fixture back underway!

45'+1'

Yellow Card Jack Grealish

45'

RED CARD! Mings receives his second booking in six minutes and he is given his marching orders! Initially, the centre-back had failed to deal with Palace's first long ball and then, in his attempts to recover, he drags down Zaha near the halfway line, leaving referee Taylor with no option but to issue a second yellow card.

44'

The hosts get possession down and play from side to side before Douglas Luiz's touch inside the area lets him down as the Brazilian shaped for an acrobatic right-footed effort.

42'

Grealish's pain is audible as Schlupp goes through the back of him near the left-hand corner. Referee Taylor needs to be careful things do not boil over here, with tackles coming in from all over the place. Traore eventually takes the resulting free-kick and Mings heads well over the bar from near the penalty spot.

41'

SAVE! Watkins goes flying down the right-hand side, reaching the byline before crossing towards the back post. El Ghazi brings the cross down well, gets on his right foot but then shoots into the ribs of Guaita from the corner of the six-yard area. Grealish then makes the wrong decision as he tries to go on his left foot and the chance fades away.

39'

Mings also gets cautioned for his part in the chaos, with referee Taylor booking him for either his initial shove on Zaha or his part in the commotion afterwards.

39'

Zaha receives the first yellow card of the game for his aggressive response to Mings, as the Palace man seemed incensed by the centre-back's attempts to retrieve the ball for a free-kick.

38'

McGinn gets fouled before Zaha reacts furiously, chasing after Mings and throwing his arms all over the place. Referee Taylor takes a step back to watch proceedings unfold and it looks like a few names could go into the book here.

37'

Grealish fouls Schlupp in exactly the sort of way many a defender often foul the Villa captain. Palace react angrily with a few words exchanged between both sides before play eventually restarts with Kouyate launching a free-kick long towards the hosts' box.

35'

El Ghazi spins with the ball after squaring up Kouyate but then drags his right-footed effort well wide of Guaita's goal to the left. He should be doing better from that position after creating a great opening for himself.

34'

Schlupp gets in referee Taylor's face as he insists McGinn needs a talking to for his fourth foul in this first half. Milivojevic then stands up a free-kick towards Kouyate but Smith's defence remain strong to head clear the set-piece.

32'

Douglas Luiz feints past two of Hodgson's men in the middle before sliding in Traore. Surprisingly, Villa's forward then wastes the opportunity as he skews a right-footed cross out for a goal-kick when searching for Watkins at the far post.

31'

Zaha goes down theatrically after clashing with McGinn but referee Taylor deems it enough to award the visitors a free-kick just outside the D. After some discussion, captain Milivojevic whips it over the wall and into the grateful hands of Martinez, diving to his left.

29'

Guaita starts way outside his area as he looks to intercept Grealish's throughball towards Watkins over the top. Palace's goalkeeper then gets extremely lucky as he misjudges the bounce, missing the ball entirely but Kouyate and Dann are there to sweep up the danger with Watkins ready for what would have been a tap-in.

28'

Eze dances inside and sends a cross in, which drifts towards the back post. Martinez reads the situation perfectly, however, as he comes off his line to claim the cross, high above the heads of Benteke and Mings.

27'

Cash now features at the other end as he looks to get on the end of El Ghazi's driven cross, however, this time referee Taylor does deem Cash to have fouled Milivojevic in Palace's area, awarding the visitors a free-kick.

24'

The visitors crowd referee Taylor appealing for a penalty after Cash swings a leg and brings down Van Aanholt in the area. VAR has a long look before suggesting the referee goes to the monitor on the touchline to reconsider his original decision.

22'

Traore has netted in consecutive Premier League appearances, scoring as many goals as he had managed in his first 19 appearances in the competition (two). The Villa forward looks in great form too, every time he receives the ball it looks like a chance is coming and Hodgson's men will be wondering how they can stop him.

21'

Consecutive corners come for the Villans, with the latter courtesy of Ward's hooked clearance at the back post. Traore's left foot delivers from the left before Guaita saves from close range against El Ghazi in the six-yard area.

20'

CHANCE! Traore leads the charge on the counter-attack before rolling in Grealish. Villa's captain runs across two Palace's defenders and then shoots with his left foot into the feet of Guaita. The hosts broke with real pace there and will feel they should have doubled their lead.

19'

Mings gets his feet in a mess and concedes an easily avoidable corner. Eze takes the set-piece but Targett rises well to head clear and launch a Villa counter-attack.

18'

OFF THE POST! Watkins holds possession up well before prodding towards Traore, who nips past McArthur and then shapes to shoot with his left foot. The Villa forward's low left-footed shot leaves Guaita with no chance but, unfortunately for Smith's side, cannons into the right-hand post and away from danger.

16'

Eze sends an inviting left-footed cross across the face of goal but Martinez shows great handling skills to collect the cross and not parry it into the path of the incoming Benteke. Villa's goalkeeper then tries to launch a counter-attack through El Ghazi, who rather sensibly opts to play backwards instead of attacking.

15'

Zaha beats two of Smith's defenders easily but his right-footed cross towards the back post is then far too heavy. However, Palace recover possession before Van Aanholt wins his side's first corner of the game on the left.

13'

Grealish takes the shortest of free-kicks to Traore, who delivers a teasing delivery towards the six-yard area. Despite the wonderful delivery, neither Mings or Hause get across the front post and Guaita collects comfortably.

12'

Douglas Luiz somehow escapes caution, despite arguing with the referee and his assistant after they had deemed the Brazilian to have handled the ball near the right-hand touchline. That would have been a needless booking for the hosts' midfielder so early on.

11'

Kouyate is forced into covering for Ward, getting across to the right-hand side and sliding in on El Ghazi. Fortunately for the visitors, the centre-back's tackle then cannons off El Ghazi and Hodgson's side get the goal-kick.

10'

Palace have now conceded in each of their last 14 Premier League games, since beating Southampton 1-0 on the opening weekend. The Eagles conceded as many goals in their 0-7 defeat to Liverpool last time out as they had in their six previous league games combined.

9'

Hause does well at the back post to keep Traore's outswinging free-kick alive, however, his flick towards the back post goes just over Mings and Palace manage to clear the danger.

8'

Traore takes the resulting corner but frustratingly cannot beat Benteke at the front post. Milivojevic is then late to an aerial challenge with Grealish and needlessly fouls the Villa captain.

7'

El Ghazi drifts inside before heading out to the left of the area and crossing towards the back post. Luckily for the visitors, Van Aanholt is on hand to head over for a corner with Traore ready to pounce behind him.

5'

GOALLLL!!! 1-0 VILLA! Watkins is afforded far too much space, reaching the area before shooting across goal with his right foot. Guaita saves Watkins’ initial effort but Traore is there to slam in the rebound with his right foot from just outside the six-yard area. Palace were slow to close down Watkins initially and they have been rightly punished for their defensive efforts.

3'

Schlupp coasts past Douglaz Luis after Targett's left-footed cross is blocked from reaching the area. The Brazilian midfielder is then far too aggressive in his attempts to win possession back and gives away a foul on Schlupp near the right-hand touchline.

2'

SAVE! Benteke reacts first to a loose ball and threads through Zaha, who beats Mings for pace with ease. The Palace man reaches the area but then Martinez stands up big to save Zaha's left-footed effort with his chest. That will be an early warning sign for the Villa defence.

1'

Referee Anthony Taylor blows his whistle to get this Premier League fixture underway!

-

The players are making their way onto the pitch at Villa Park and shortly it will be time for kick-off.

-

Villa have won just one of their last 10 Premier League matches on Boxing Day (D4 L5), though this did come against Norwich last season. They last won top-flight games on consecutive Boxing Days in 1988/1989.

-

Roy Hodgson responds to his team’s defeat against Liverpool by making three changes. Benteke returns from suspension to partner Zaha, while at the back Dann and Ward start in place of Clyne and Cahill, who has a hamstring problem.

-

It comes as no surprise that Dean Smith does not make any changes to the side which coasted to victory against West Brom. Despite recovering from his hamstring injury, Ross Barkley does not make the squad.

-

SUBS: Michy Batshuayi, James McCarthy, Jairo Riedewald, James Tomkins, Tyrick Mitchell, Jack Butland, Jordan Ayew, Nathaniel Clyne, Andros Townsend.

-

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-2): Vicente Guaita; Joel Ward, Scott Dann, Cheikhou Kouyate, Patrick van Aanholt; Eberechi Eze, James McArthur, Luka Milivojevic, Jeffrey Schlupp; Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke.

-

SUBS: Marvelous Nakamba, Conor Hourihane, Jacob Ramsey, Neil Taylor, Keinan Davis, Tom Heaton, Frederic Guilbert, Ezri Konsa Ngoyo, Ahmed El Mohamady.

-

ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Kortney Hause, Matthew Cash; Douglas Luiz, John McGinn; Jack Grealish, Anwar El Ghazi, Bertrand Traore; Ollie Watkins.

-

After an embarrassing 7-0 crushing by Liverpool, the Eagles will be looking to bounce back at Villa Park. However, the hosts represent a difficult challenge for the London side given their impressive form this campaign, which most recently saw them cruise to a 3-0 victory away at West Brom.

-

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League fixture between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.

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