Aston Villa 0-1 Everton

Aston Villa’s 11-game winning run at Villa Park came to an end on Sunday as Everton left B6 with all three Premier League points.

A fiercely contested first half saw chances come and go for both sides, with a Jake O’Brien goal ruled out for offside at one end and Evann Guessand hitting the bar with a looping header at the other.

Both teams continued to chase the opener in the second half, and the decisive moment arrived just before the hour mark when Thierno Barry chipped home from close-range.

Morgan Rogers attempted to lead Villa’s fightback, calling Jordan Pickford into a world-class save, but the hosts weren’t able to find a route to goal.

Unai Emery’s men remain third in the top-flight table and will now turn their attention to the resumption of their Europa League campaign against Fenerbahçe on Thursday.

Emi Martínez, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins returned to the starting XI as the hosts looked to maintain their imperious home form against a Toffees team who had been strong on their travels this term.

But despite the form guide, it was the visitors who came within inches of snatching the lead after just 13 seconds when Merlin Röhl pounced on a long punt forward from kick-off and sent a shot against the far post.

Rogers, celebrating his century of games in claret and blue, fired over from inside the box in the fifth minute as Villa responded, with Ian Maatsen the first to test Pickford via a low drive soon after.

An early injury to John McGinn handed Guessand his first appearance since he left for the Africa Cup of Nations last month, and the Ivorian had a great chance to open the scoring on the half-hour mark.

Tielemans threaded a wonderful through ball into his path, but the forward saw his shot saved after taking a touch and holding off a defender.

Moments later, Everton swept up the other end and saw a Vitalii Mykolenko shot tipped over the bar. The resulting set piece was headed in by O’Brien, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside due to interference by teammate Harrison Armstrong.

The sudden flurry of action continued as Rogers’ goalbound shot was deflected wide by O’Brien before the playmaker tested Pickford with a dipping drive a minute later.

England’s No.1 could only watch on minutes before the break as Guessand’s header looped over his head and thudded against the crossbar, with the first half drawing to a close without a goal.

The home side started the second period in assertive fashion, coming close to the first goal when Tielemans drifted into the box and planted a header just wide from Matty Cash’s centre.

Despite Villa bossing proceedings, Everton’s threat remained, and the away fans were celebrating when their side took the lead after 59 minutes.

Martínez failed to hold Dwight McNeil’s curler, allowing Barry to steal in and lob the ball over him as the Argentine scrambled to block his effort.

Rogers continued to pull the strings in the final third for the home side, and only a terrific save from Pickford denied him a goal when he caressed a shot towards the top corner in the 72^nd minute.

The Toffees sunk deeper towards the Holte End as the minutes ticked past, putting bodies on the line to preserve their advantage. 

In the final minute of four added on, the instrumental Tielemans whipped in a cross that was nodded wide by Buendía, ending Villa's attempts to earn a point.