Aston Villa extended their unbeaten run as they produced one of the most comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Douglas Luiz opened the scoring for Unai Emery’s team inside seven minutes at Villa Park. But, Bournemouth responded brilliantly and put Aston Villa to the test for much of the game. Just after the hour, Emiliano Martinez produced a spectacular diving save to keep out Philip Billing’s thundering free kick. The return of David Brooks to competitive activity after a cancer struggle was possibly their brightest moment in the game. He came in for Jack Stephens in the 79th minute for his first game in 18 months, almost a year after announcing he was cancer-free in May 2022.
Bournemouth, however, surrendered in the closing 15 minutes of the game, as Villa scored twice more. Jacob Ramsey (80) scored the hosts’ second goal after some tenacious play, and Emi Buendia (89) closed things off with his sixth goal of the season. The win briefly lifted Aston Villa above Chelsea, but the Blues’ dramatic late tie with Everton saw them reclaim the lead on goal difference. They are presently tied with 38 points. Bournemouth failed to capitalize on their triumph over Liverpool last weekend, falling to 19th after Leeds defeated Wolves.
Aston Villa took advantage of their early pressure and scored after seven minutes. The attempted shot by Ollie Watkins pinged along the top of the area, finding Leon Bailey on the right. He then sent the ball into the center, despite Marcos Senesi’s outstretched foot, with Luiz there to slot home. But, Bournemouth responded brilliantly and created numerous chances. The first came almost as a gift from John McGinn, as his clumsy back pass was nearly intercepted by Jaidon Anthony. Billing then nodded wide, and Dominic Solanke had a bending effort palmed away by Martinez as well.
Aston Villa also looked threatening heading forward. Watkins was put through the middle by a superb Buendia pass just before the half-hour mark, but his attempted chip was buried by Neto. Villa was awarded a penalty late in the first half. Ramsey’s thundering strike from range appeared to hit Stephens on the hand before going wide after a well-worked short corner. VAR investigated the event thoroughly but did not impose a penalty. Aston Villa started the second half well and had a few half-chances, but Bournemouth equalized just after the hour mark. Billing blasted a spectacular free-kick over the wall, but Martinez saved it with a superb, jumping save to his right.
Yet Aston Villa’s talent quickly showed as Ramsey extended their lead late on. Watkins cushioned a header into his teammate’s path after a deep Luiz free kick. Ramsey then easily drove past Stephens before his shot deflected in off the back of Neto. Villa began to dominate and added their third goal in the 89th minute after a goal was ruled out due to the ball having already run out of play. Luiz was the instigator once more, this time from a corner that was somewhat pushed on by Tyrone Mings. Buendia was waiting just behind the goalkeeper to send the ball past him. There was a lengthy VAR check, but the goal was correct.
“In 90 minutes, we performed admirably. They had their moments as well, and we were battling at points in the first half after our goal, but it was the best 20 minutes we’d played since I arrived,” Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said. “The eventual effect was that we thought we were fully secure from the lower teams there. The next phase is to look up to the teams in the top 10 that are ahead of us. It’s critical that we get off to a good start with a nice play, try to control the game, and take chances to score, which we did fast. We also suffered a little bit because we couldn’t handle certain runs to our defense with Solanke.”
“For a long time, I thought it was in the balance. We didn’t get off to a good start, were slow out of the blocks, and didn’t look like ourselves for the opening 10 minutes, and Villa punished us for it,” Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil said. “We clawed our way back into the game after falling behind 1-0, creating some decent chances and having several situations where we should have done better. We open it up a little bit at the finish with more offensive guys on the field. It goes against us, and the scoreline makes it look much worse.”
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