Everton’s victory denies Aston Villa the chance to overtake Man City

(Football result) - Aston Villa suffered a surprising 0-1 defeat against Everton in the 22nd round of the 2025/26 Premier League, thereby failing to reduce the distance to Man City and Arsenal.

In the early hours of January 19 (Vietnam time), Aston Villa hosted Everton at Villa Park in the context of the 22nd round of the 2025/26 Premier League with the aim of narrowing the gap with league leaders Arsenal. However, Unai Emery’s team faced a setback as they lost 0-1 due to the lone goal by Thierno Barry in the second half.

Right after the kickoff, Everton showed they were not at Villa Park just to defend. Within 11 seconds, the visitors nearly scored when Jordan Pickford launched a long ball for Barry to hold up for Merlin Röhl’s shot, which hit the post before being caught by Emiliano Martínez. Escaping an early goal, Aston Villa quickly raised their line and applied significant pressure. In the 5th minute, Emiliano Buendía had a chance one-on-one but passed to Morgan Rogers, who then shot over the bar from a good position.

The home side’s rhythm was disrupted in the 18th minute when captain John McGinn was injured and had to leave the pitch. Nevertheless, the final minutes of the first half were dramatic. Everton almost scored with a long-range shot from Vitaliy Mykolenko that forced Martínez into a fine save. From the resulting corner, Jake O'Brien headed the ball into Villa’s net, but the goal was disallowed due to Harrison Armstrong being offside and involved in the play. On the other side, Rogers continued to miss chances, while Evann Guessand struck the crossbar from a cross by Youri Tielemans.

In the second half, Aston Villa started proactively and kept up the pressure. However, the turning point came in the 59th minute after a series of individual errors. Pau Torres mishandled a pass from Ezri Konsa, allowing Dwight McNeil to shoot from outside the box. Although Emiliano Martínez seemed set to catch it, the Argentine goalkeeper let the ball rebound, giving Thierno Barry the chance to score decisively from close range.

In the remaining minutes, Aston Villa pushed hard to find an equalizer. Morgan Rogers repeatedly tried his luck but was denied by Pickford’s excellent saves. With limited options from the bench, Villa Park’s side gradually ran out of ideas and accepted defeat. This result means Unai Emery’s squad missed the chance to surpass Man City, as both teams now have 43 points after 22 rounds.

Meanwhile, Everton secured their first away win at Villa Park since August, continuing to nurture hopes of competing for a European competition spot.