Matty Cash’s first-half fizzer earned Aston Villa an excellent 1-0 win over Manchester City, whose Premier League title hopes took an early blow.
Cash fired home from the edge of the area in the 19th minute and that proved enough for a fourth league win in a row for Villa, who celebrated Unai Emery’s third anniversary in charge in style.
It was a third successive home victory over Pep Guardiola’s side, who fell six points behind leaders Arsenal and face the prospect of another hunt of Mikel Arteta’s side after Christmas.
City were stifled excellently by a perfect Villa game plan and Erling Haaland was stopped from scoring for just the second time this season in all competitions, ending a 12-game spree.
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Such a run of results against Guardiola’s side would not have seemed possible before Emery arrived at Villa Park in October 2022, transforming their fortunes.
And after a slow start to the campaign, they again look like challenging at the top end of the Premier League.
City’s best period of the game came in the opening 10 minutes and they were close to an opener in the sixth minute when Tijjani Reijnders flashed an effort just over from the edge of the area.
But Villa began to take control and the decisive moment of the game arrived in the 19th minute as they went ahead from a set-piece.
They took a short corner to Emiliano Buendia and he crossed the ball to the edge of the area, where Cash collected it before unleashing a low shot across his body that curled into the bottom corner.
City could have been level three minutes later as Haaland produced an uncharacteristic miss.
Bernardo Silva beat the offside trap and slipped in the Norwegian but his shot was too close to Emiliano Martinez.
That was as good as it got, though, as Villa pushed for a second.
John McGinn might have expected to score when he had time and space on the edge of the box but his shot deflected off John Stones and just wide.
From the resulting corner Ollie Watkins saw a free header blocked.
McGinn came close early in the second half when he met a corner with a sweet strike but it was blocked.
City upped the ante in search of the equaliser and were denied by some heroic defending on the hour as Ezri Konsa blocked Savinho’s fierce shot and then Pau Torres was in position on the goalline to turn over the Brazilian’s second effort.
Jadon Sancho, on as an early sub for the injured Buendia, had a quiet game but could have doubled the lead in the 69th minute when he had two chances from a narrow angle but both were saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The on-loan Manchester United man was himself subbed soon after as the hosts continued to probe, with the excellent Watkins inches away from being able to get on the end of Ross Barkley’s through-ball.
City threw everything forward in search of an equaliser and thought they had found one it in the 89th minute when Haaland slid in at the far post but Phil Foden was offside in the build-up.
Captain Micky van de Ven led from the front with two headers to inflict Everton’s first defeat at their new stadium as Tottenham moved into third with a 3-0 victory.
David Moyes’ side went from conceding no league goals from corners to two in the first half as the visitors profited firstly from a good set-piece routine and then from woeful marking.
Spurs boss Thomas Frank handed on-loan Paris St Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani his first start but Van de Ven provided the biggest threat with his double putting him out in front as the team’s top scorer with five, having failed to score at all last season.
Those goals – plus another late header from Pape Sarr – secured a 13th point from a possible 15 on the road, form which has provided the platform for their rise to within five points of leaders and north London rivals Arsenal.
It was a strange performance from Tottenham as after taking a 19th-minute lead they went into their shell and barely suggested they would threaten again until their captain struck once more in first-half added time.
But while Spurs made the most of their chances the home side did not despite having plenty of creativity on either wing from Iliman Ndiaye, comfortably their best player, and the returning Jack Grealish.
Both players found themselves facing two opponents whenever they got the ball and while Ndiaye’s pace saw him get in behind a couple of times, there was little in the way of danger in the middle.
The closest they came was when striker Beto miscontrolled Ndiaye’s cross to Grealish, whose goalbound shot was blocked almost on the line by Pedro Porro in just the third minute.
A team who have scored nine league goals this season need those chances to go in and when they do not it makes winning games that much more difficult.
They were uncharacteristically undone at a corner when Mohammed Kudus’ cross to the far post was diverted back across goal by Rodrigo Bentancur’s shoulder and Van de Ven nodded in from close range.
Everton proceeded to dominate and were denied an equaliser when Jake O’Brien’s near-post header was ruled out after VAR suggested Ndiaye and Grealish, both in offside positions sandwiching Guglielmo Vicario, were interfering with the goalkeeper and referee Craig Pawson agreed after reviewing the footage.
Despite creating little from open play Spurs continued to look dangerous at set-pieces and after Bentancur headed over one corner, Van de Ven made no mistake from another after finding himself unmarked between Everton’s two centre-backs.
Everton had conceded as many in 52 minutes – after seven added on – as they had in their previous five matches at Hill Dickinson Stadium and their goalscoring record suggested the game was as good as done.
Ndiaye did his best to not make it a formality, flicking one shot wide and having another deflected effort tipped around a post either side of crossing for Beto’s overhead kick to be clawed out by the impressive Vicario.
Jordan Pickford saved well from former Everton forward Richarlison, on for Kolo Muani, in a rare Spurs foray but faced with an attack now being led by 23-year-old Thierno Barry – yet to open his account since his £27million move from Villarreal – scoring further goals was not a concern for the visitors.
But Sarr hastened the emptying of seats by nodding home after being teed up by Richarlison in the 89th minute.
Lyle Foster came off the bench and scored a dramatic last-minute winner as Burnley snatched a 3-2 Premier League victory away to bottom side Wolves.
It marked six months to the day since the hosts last won in the league – a 3-0 win over Leicester – and their wait for a first this campaign continued as they let in a late goal for the fourth game in a row.
The game had a feel of an early season ‘six-pointer’ for this campaign’s relegation battle and Burnley sensed the tension in the air at Wolves early on.
They pounced into a deserved two-goal lead courtesy of Zian Flemming’s first pair of Premier League goals, both assisted by Quilindschy Hartman.
The Clarets looked comfortable but the hosts made it a level game out of nowhere thanks to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s penalty and Marshall Munetsi’s first of the campaign.
Scott Parker’s side initially surrendered a two-goal lead, which looked like it would deny them a first victory on the road until Foster struck in the fifth and final minute of second-half stoppage-time.
Strand Larsen and Wolves boss Vitor Pereira went over to the fans following the final whistle and chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” and “sacked in the morning” belted down from the stands, directed at the players and Pereira.
Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was brought into action early on and he produced a diving save to bat Josh Cullen’s goal-bound volley away.
Axel Tuanzebe’s sloppiness on the ball almost gave the home side a lead – at the other end – as he was dispossessed by Jhon Arias, who ran through on goal but sent his end product straight at Martin Dubravka.
Burnley drew first blood with the simplest of goals.
Hartman sent a routine long ball over the top which was perfectly read by Flemming and he watched the ball come over his shoulder before connecting with a smart volley into the bottom corner.
Loud boos rang around Molineux as Burnley doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark.
Another long ball over the top proved to be Wolves’ downfall as Hartman latched on to Cullen’s high pass on the byline and he sent a low cross across the face of goal to Flemming, who was waiting to tap in his second of the afternoon.
Wolves were clearly second best throughout the first period but were offered an olive branch by their opponents for a way back into the contest when Cullen brought down Santiago Bueno inside the box.
Referee Tony Harrington pointed to the penalty spot and Strand Larsen was the coolest man inside Molineux as he sent Dubravka the wrong way to halve the deficit with his first for the season.
The fighting spirit had not gone and Wolves fought back and to score a leveller on the stroke of half-time.
Ladislav Krejci diverted Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross into the path of Munetsi and he was able to nod the ball beyond Dubravka.
The woodwork stopped Wolves from taking the lead as Arias saw his free-kick beat the diving Dubravka but crashing off the upright and away from danger.
Wolves pushed Burnley deeper in search of the winner – Dubravka was forced in a couple of saves to deny Strand Larsen’s header and Bellegarde’s thumping strike.
The visitors snatched all three points at the death as Hannibal Mejbri slipped through to Foster and he guided his finish beyond the onrushing Johnstone as boos rang round Molineux.
Sean Dyche’s first Premier League match in charge of Nottingham Forest ended in defeat as Bournemouth climbed to second place in the table with a 2-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium.
Forest were hoping to build on momentum from Thursday night’s 2-0 Europa League win over Porto – their first victory across all competitions since August.
Instead, they fell behind when Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring directly from a 25th-minute corner.
Junior Kroupi doubled Bournemouth’s advantage before the break, the fourth goal in the 19-year-old’s last three Cherries appearances.
Both bosses made a single change to their line-ups, Iraola bringing in Veljko Milosavljevic for Bafode Diakite while Dyche was forced to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko with Nicolo Savona as a result of the former picking up an injury in the European win.
Marcus Tavernier tested Matz Sels early on, forcing the Forest keeper into a low, second-minute save. Sels then denied Antoine Semenyo as the Cherries remained on the front foot through the first 15 minutes.
The visitors had barely ventured into Bournemouth’s half when Douglas Luiz and Justin Kluivert got into a heated, physical confrontation in midfield, sparking members of both sides to rush in and calm the situation.
Both players were issued 18th-minute yellow cards, and a second pause was required moments later as referee Sam Barrott once again called for cooler heads.
Forest had registered just one shot – by Neco Williams, and well off target – by the time Tavernier opened the scoring in the 25th minute, whipping his corner beyond the leaping Sels.
The visitors protested, believing it was Tavernier who had last touched the ball before the corner was awarded and that Tyler Adams had fouled Sels in the air, but the officials disagreed and the contest carried on.
Djordje Petrovic was finally called into action from Williams’ effort before Kroupi doubled the Cherries’ advantage, latching on to a loose ball in midfield before beating Sels from 25 yards out and inspiring a chorus of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” directed at the new Forest boss.
Dyche made a triple change, bringing on Taiwo Awoniyi, Omari Hutchinson and Ryan Yates for Igor Jesus, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Luiz as the second half got out to a more even start.
But chances remained scarce until Morgan Gibbs-White forced Petrovic into a diving stop with just over 13 minutes remaining.
Some clever work from David Brooks nearly resulted in a late Bournemouth third, but the 69th-minute substitute’s shot was just wide, and Petrovic stopped a late Awoniyi effort.
