Douglas Luiz's late penalty left Aston Villa joint top of the Premier League with a 3-2 win over 10-man Burnley on Saturday, as Manchester City saw off the leaders by sweeping aside Sheffield United 2-0. It looked like a festive season to forget as Villa would press on after dropping points on home turf for the first time this season against Sheffield United, taking a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Boxing Day Manchester United. But Luiz's penalty, which crept in off the underside of the crossbar, left Unai Emery's men level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table.
Leon Bailey's opener for the home side was quickly canceled out by Zeki Amdouni for Burnley.
Moussa Diaby restored Villa's lead before half-time and they had a man advantage for the final 35 minutes after Sander Berge saw a second yellow card.
But Villa's high line begged to be picked up by opponents and Lyle Foster timed his run to fire past Emi Martinez 19 minutes from time.
There was one final twist, however, as Jhon Duran was upended in the box and Luiz fired home.
“Everyone is so happy, we have to enjoy the moment,” said Luiz.
“We haven't been playing very well in the last three games. It's halfway through the season, the players are tired, we've lost three or four important players due to injuries. It's difficult, but we have to keep going.”
Man City Cruise
Despite missing Erling Haaland for the seventh straight game due to a foot injury, City were never troubled by the bottom-of-the-table Blades.
Rodri ended Sheffield United's resistance after just fourteen minutes when the Spanish midfielder surged forward and fired low into the far corner.
Julian Alvarez again ably filled Haaland's boots as the Argentine tapped home his fourth goal in three games to secure the points from Phil Foden's cross just after the hour mark.
City are next to Arsenal on 40 points, just two points behind Villa and Liverpool, who are in action at home against Newcastle on Monday.
And Pep Guardiola said he is pleased with his side's first half of the season, despite some problems as they added the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup to their trophy collection.
“We have had injuries and some problems, we have won the titles, important titles, so our level is really good, I would say,” Guardiola said.
“Now rest, we all need it. January is less intense than November and December, so we are preparing for what is to come.”
Palmer inspires Chelsea
Chelsea completed a run of four consecutive defeats thanks to Cole Palmer's double, but had to endure a nail-biting final to beat Luton 3–2.
Powerful goals from Palmer and Noni Madueke gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Mauricio Pochettino's men appeared to have weathered a second-half storm as Palmer's classy finish made it 3-0.
But former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley sparked a Luton revival and Elijah Adebayo powered home from close range to set up a thrilling finale.
“That's the Premier League. Luton are a team that fights to the end, you could see that in their games against Liverpool and Arsenal and Man City and Newcastle,” Pochettino said.
“We controlled the game until the 65th minute. We had to win and we deserved that result.”
Luton remained just one point behind safety as Everton slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Wolves.
Max Kilman, Matheus Cunha and Craig Dawson were on target for Gary O'Neil's men, who secured a third win in seven days.
Fears that Crystal Palace could be dragged into the relegation battle were allayed by the Eagles' first win in nine games as they defeated Brentford 3-1 at Selhurst Park.
Manchester United will look to build on their stunning comeback against Villa when they travel to Nottingham Forest later on Saturday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article