Emiliano Buendia blew the title race wide open with a 95th-minute winner as Aston Villa beat Premier League leaders Arsenal 2-1 at Villa Park.
The substitute won it with almost the final kick of an enthralling contest to inflict defeat on Mikel Arteta’s side and move Villa above Manchester City into second – now just three points behind the Gunners after an astonishing run of nine wins in 10 games.
Matty Cash had put Villa on course for the victory in the first half but Leandro Trossard came off the bench to equalise early in the second and there were opportunities for Arsenal to lead – Emiliano Martinez saving sensationally from Martin Odegaard.
But it was Buendia who was the hero to spark wild scenes of celebration in front of the Holte End and give Manchester City the chance to move within two of Arsenal if they win their game in hand. Villa will be dreaming of the Premier League title themselves.
How Villa earned dramatic win
Arsenal had needed David Raya to save well from Ollie Watkins early on but Martinez was certainly busy at the other end too, Eberechi Eze also having a goal disallowed for offside. It was Eze switching off defensively that led to Cash’s opening goal, however.
The Villa full-back was free to arrow the ball through Raya for the breakthrough. Arteta’s response of bringing on Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres for Eze and Mikel Merino turned the tide quickly but it was a hard-fought contest that ebbed and flowed thereafter.
While it would be wrong to say either side settled for a point, Arteta did opt to withdraw his scorer in favour of Myles Lewis-Skelly in an attempt to tighten up and avoid a first defeat since August, while Martinez took considerable time over his 94th-minute goal-kick.
But Villa got the ball forward with bodies in the box, Arsenal were unable to clear their lines as the supporters in the Holte End sucked the ball goalwards, and Buendia’s rare calmness amid the subsequent melee has changed the complexion of this season.
Story of the match in stats…
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
