Duran stunner completes Villa turnaround as Everton throw away two-goal lead again
SENSATIONAL: Aston Villa's Jhon Duran celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game. Pic: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire.
Jhon Duran is making a habit of being Aston Villa’s star man this season. Against Everton, he did it by stealing Ollie Watkins’ thunder in spectacular fashion.
Watkins had looked all set to be the Villa hero – scoring his first two goals since the one that took England to the Euro 2024 final, and pulling them back into a match that had threatened to run away from them.
Then Duran, for the third time in four matches this season, came on as a substitute and made all the difference.
And how. The vicious bending 30-yard shot with which he won the match may go down in Villa folklore. For Everton, it only caused more agony. For the second successive league match, they lost after being 2-0 up. They have now lost their opening four league games for the first time since 1958.
A planned fan protest against Villa’s much-criticised Champions League ticket pricing rather fizzled out. While a banner displaying the message ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ was held up by two fans at the front of the North Stand as the game kicked off, only a few fans held up red cards that had been handed out to them to join in the protest.
Villa’s early play suggested they would go into their European opener, away to Swiss side Young Boys on Tuesday, with a win. Ollie Watkins had a goalbound downward header from Lucas Digne’s corner blocked on the post by Iliman Ndiaye, then steered wide a cross from Villa’s French full-back.
Yet then they got sloppy, allowing Everton to score with their first serious attack. Amadou Onana, who left Goodison Park to join Villa for £50m in July, was muscled off the ball fairly by Dwight McNeil, who progressed unimpeded to roll an opening goal past a shocked Emi Martinez. Everton’s fans, once they’d overcome their own surprise, mocked Onana by chanting his name ironically.
The travelling support were cheering again before the match was half an hour old, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin worked himself free to head in McNeil’s inswinging right-wing free-kick from six yards, a lengthy video assistant referee check to confirm that the scorer had stayed onside.
Villa, with two goals to make up, set about rebuilding their confidence and were back in the match by half-time, as Watkins climbed above Michael Keane at the far post to head in Digne’s floated cross.
It gave them the left they needed. Morgan Rogers could have made it 2-2 shortly after half-time only to drive against the outstretched foot of Jordan Pickford when clear.
Yet the home side then had to survive a scare of their own; Calvert-Lewin was just onside after being played through by McNeil, but took too long in a one-on-one as he tried to go round Martinez, and allowed Ezri Konsa to whip the ball off his toe.
Villa made the most of the escape. Watkins struck again as Jack Harrison made a mess of trying to cut out a through pass from Youri Tielemans, instead only diverting it for the striker to slot in from 10 yards.
He would soon have been celebrating a hat-trick had Rogers not overhit a low pass across goal with the forward perfectly positioned for a tap-in.
Villa, though, were not to be denied, as supersub Duran had Villa Park on its feet, and even though Calvert-Lewin hit the bar after that, the script had been written.
Martinez 6; Bogarde 6, Konsa 7, Torres 6, Digne 7 (Maatsen 70, 7); Onana 5 (Barkley 46, 6), Tielemans 7; McGinn 6 (Philogene 90, 6), Rogers 7, Ramsey 7 (Duran 70, 8); Watkins 8 (Buendia 84, 6).
Pickford 7; Young 6, Tarkowski 7, Keane 6, Mykolenko 6 (Garner 26, 7); Gueye 6 (Mangala 64, 6), Iroegbunam 6 (Lindstrom 80, 6); McNeil 7, Ndiaye 6 (Beto 80, 6), Harrison 5 (O’Brien 64, 6); Calvert-Lewin 7.
Craig Pawson 7
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
