Aston Villa 1 Sheff Utd 1
On paper this could be one of the most one-sided encounters of the week. Aston Villa were on fire at home, having beaten Man City and Arsenal in their last two games. They welcomed bottom of the league Sheff Utd who had conceded 43 goals already this season.
Unai Emery’s side piled on the pressure from the off and as Digne crossed, Watkins went down in the area claiming for a penalty. VAR reviewed it but decided the contact was not enough to warrant the striker falling to the floor the way he did.
Foderingham then reacted well as he denied Diaby a goal. The hosts then wanted another penalty given for an alleged handball. The replay showed Robinson was on the floor at the time and as the ball was kicked at him, could do nothing to move out of the way.
Aston Villa were dominating the visitors so much you could have been forgiven for thinking this was a bizarre new instalment of the ‘Fifty Shades’ saga, but Emery’s side could not make their dominance count for anything in the first half.
Credit: @AVFCOfficial
Villa Park has been a cauldron of noise since their record-breaking run but the home fans were getting frustrated by their side’s inability to break the deadlock. As much as the hosts tried to assert themselves, they were just not creating clear-cut chances.
As a corner came into the box a scuffed shot was half-cleared. Digne then tried to hook the ball into the net but a Sheff Utd defender threw his body in the way to prevent Foderingham from having to make a save. It was proving a frustrating evening for Villa who could go top with victory.
Watkins then picked out Bailey at the back post, who swept it into the back of the net. As Villa Park erupted, they were to be denied. VAR asked the referee to go to the monitor and he deemed the keeper was obstructed in the build-up and goal was disallowed.
As time started to run out for Emery’s side, Sheff Utd broke and Norwood tried his luck from outside the box. Martinez was equal to it with the save but it was the first shot on goal The Blades had managed in the game, taking a mere 78 minutes to do so.
Duran was lucky not to be sent off when he had a coming together with Robinson and seemed to swing an arm at him, slightly catching the defender. VAR cleared the offence but the Sheff Utd defender had a lump on his head and blood streaming down his face.
Chris Wilder’s side then reacted in the best possible way when former Aston Villa academy graduate Archer got to the byline and cut it back for Hamer to slot home. If you thought Villa Park was quiet earlier, you could hear a pin drop now.
Credit: @AVFCOfficial
With only three minutes of normal time remaining, the away fans were dreaming of an away win. Sadly, in the modern day Premier League there is always a chance that there is going to be another 45 minutes of added time.
In the 97th minute, Douglas Luis’ clipped cross into the box was met by Zaniolo. With Foderingham coming and failing to get to it, the ball was headed into an empty net. It was heart-breaking for the Sheff Utd players and fans who had thought they had the win in the bag.
Unai Emery will still see this as two points dropped and more importantly, they missed the chance to go top of the Premier League table. Despite the fact that Sheff Utd would have taken this result before kick-off, they were left with a sour taste in their mouths as it seemed they had let an away win out of their grasp.
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