EPL: Aston Villa 2-2 Crystal Palace - Villa Fight Back for Draw

Villa End Losing Streak with 2-2 Draw Against Palace

“We're missing some key players in attack, but we still scored two amazing goals.”

Aston Villa fought back twice to earn a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace, ending their four-match losing streak.

Aston Villa fought back twice to earn a thrilling 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace, ending their losing streak.

Crystal Palace took an early lead when Ismaila Sarr slotted past Emiliano Martinez after latching onto Jean-Philippe Mateta's pass. Villa equalized 30 minutes later through Ollie Watkins, who rounded Dean Henderson and scored into an empty net.

Villa were awarded a penalty when Will Hughes fouled Leon Bailey, but Youri Tielemans' spot-kick was saved by Henderson. Palace quickly retook the lead through Justin Devenny, who converted Sarr's cross.

Palace's lead was short-lived, as Ross Barkley headed in from a corner with just over 10 minutes left. The game became end-to-end in the closing stages, with both teams creating chances.

Martinez made a fine save to deny Palace substitute Jeffrey Schlupp, while Jefferson Lerma fired a long-range effort narrowly wide. Despite avoiding a fifth consecutive defeat, Villa are now winless in their past six matches.

The draw moves Villa up to seventh in the Premier League table, while Palace remain in the relegation zone in 18th.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery had mixed emotions after the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace. While he was pleased with the team's character in twice coming from behind, he acknowledged there were areas for improvement.

Villa's attacking play in the second half was more reminiscent of last season's form, and but for the outstanding performances of Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson and Maxence Lacroix, they would likely have scored a third goal. Additionally, ending the losing streak and Ollie Watkins scoring after a five-game drought were positives.

However, Emery recognized that Villa are still not at the level they were last season. The ease with which Palace broke through Villa's high defensive line during transitions was concerning, especially given the visitors were missing key attacker Eberechi Eze.

“Yes, it is,” Emery said when asked if Villa's vulnerability on transitions was concerning him. “We are working on it. The players are concerned as well. We deserved more but we made some mistakes that we need to correct. We had chances to score, we came back.”

Emery acknowledged that while a point was not a bad result, Villa need to improve to achieve their goal of finishing in the top seven. “A point is not bad, but the issue is we are trying to be in the top seven positions and we need to improve to be there.”

Emery avoided losing five consecutive matches for the first time in his career, but there is still plenty of room for improvement for Villa.

While Unai Emery felt his side deserved to win, a defeat would have been unfair on Crystal Palace. Oliver Glasner's team showed great resilience, taking the lead twice and defending bravely.

Glasner was thrilled with his team's performance, particularly given the absence of key attackers. “I'm very proud of the team performance,” he said. “We're missing some key players in attack, but we still scored two amazing goals.”

Glasner praised his team's unity and determination. “I'm very proud of how they played together, worked together, fought together, and believed in getting a point here.”

The Palace manager was delighted with the point, which he felt was a just reward for his team's efforts. “Overall, it was a good performance for us, and we go home very pleased with the point.”

If Palace can maintain this level of performance, they are likely to climb out of the relegation zone by the end of the season.