Aston Villa's Premier League title aspirations suffered a significant blow as Thierno Barry's second-half strike secured a 1-0 victory for Everton at Villa Park. The result came after Unai Emery had labelled the match 'crucial' in his programme notes, with Arsenal and Manchester City dropping points earlier in the weekend.
Barry capitalised on a defensive mix-up between Pau Torres and Emiliano Martínez, pouncing on the goalkeeper's fumble to dink home after Dwight McNeil's curling shot had been spilled. The goal was a culmination of errors, starting with Ezri Konsa's pass deflecting off Torres into McNeil's path.
David Moyes praised his side's resilience, particularly after Jake O'Brien's first-half header was disallowed for offside interference by Harrison Armstrong. James Garner impressed in midfield, with Moyes stating he 'was probably as good as anybody' and 'immense'. The performance caught the eye of Thomas Tuchel, with Garner outshining England hopefuls Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers.
Villa had early chances, with Merlin Röhl hitting the post inside 11 seconds and Morgan Rogers spooning over from close range. However, they were disrupted by captain John McGinn's injury-enforced exit after 18 minutes, joining long-term absentees Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana on the sidelines. Evann Guessand struck the crossbar but Villa lacked a cutting edge.
Jack Grealish, returning to Villa Park for the first time since a heated exchange with Martínez last season, received a warm reception and applauded fans at full time. Moyes acknowledged the difficulty of Grealish's return, while Villa's defeat was compounded by Donyell Malen scoring on his Serie A debut for Roma just days after leaving the club.
