Match ends, Crystal Palace 2, Aston Villa 1.
Crystal Palace 2-1 Aston Villa
- From the section Football
Bakary Sako scored a dramatic late winner on his debut as Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa at Selhurst Park.
Palace, who had an earlier goal disallowed when James McArthur was adjudged offside, went ahead when Scott Dann headed in Jason Puncheon's corner.
Villa levelled when Eagles defender Pape Souare deflected the ball into his own net after Adama Traore's run.
But Sako, who had twice been denied by keeper Brad Guzan, netted a fine winner after Jordan Amavi had lost the ball.
The full-back lost possession close to his own goal and Dann slid a pass to Sako to score on his debut after leaving Wolves on a free transfer in the summer.
This result means Palace have won two of their first three matches of the season, but Villa have now only scored two goals and won one match in the same period.
Relive Crystal Palace's dramatic win against Aston Villa
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Villa wasteful in front of goal again
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood said his side deserved a point and they can be boosted by a hugely impressive 20-minute appearance from substitute Traore, who was making his debut after a £7m move from Barcelona.
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Traore helped create Villa's goal, running with the ball from the right wing to the byeline before his pull-back bounced off Souare and into the net.
However, Sherwood will be concerned by his other strikers. Rudy Gestede, making his first start for the club, twice should have done better with headers that went well wide. Gabriel Agbonlahor's pace tormented Palace's Joel Ward but the Villa man should have scored when he was one-on-one with Alex McCarthy.
Last season only relegated Burnley (28) scored fewer goals than Villa (31) and goals again seem to be a worry for Sherwood's side, who no longer have Christian Benteke.
Pardew changes inspire Palace
Palace had been unimpressive in the first half with only one shot on goal, but two changes at half-time from boss Alan Pardew made a major difference.
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Bringing on Dwight Gayle and Jordon Mutch for the ineffective Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray caused Villa problems.
Palace had the ball in the net after Gayle's shot had bounced off McArthur, who was offside, before Dann - tipped for an England call-up by Pardew - scored the hosts' first goal.
Palace got lucky with their winning goal after Amavi's error, but they are now fourth in the table and Pardew will be hoping to guide his side to an even higher position this year than their 10th-placed finish last season.
Man of the match - Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace)
Manager quotes
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew: "We got a real grip of the game in the second half. Villa were terrific today. Regarding the disallowed goal, Macca (James McArthur) was offside when Gayle's shot hit him. The referee got it spot on."
On match winner Bakary Sako: "We've seen the power of Sako in training. This guy has come in to score goals. This win is for Yannick [Bolasie, who was given compassionate leave following a family bereavement]."
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood: "To lose it so late was disappointing. I thought we were very good in the first half. We scored the goal and came back into it.
"We saw a young player with no fear like Adama Traore. On the flip side you have young players that make mistakes and Jordan Amavi hasn't made many, but he did today and has to learn from it."
The stats you need to know
- Crystal Palace have scored 16 set piece goals since Alan Pardew was named as their manager; more than any other Premier League side in that period.
- Since the start of last season, only one Englishman (Jordan Henderson 10) has more Premier League assists than Jason Puncheon (nine, level with Leighton Baines and Jamie Vardy).
- Sako attempted six shots (excluding blocked) and five shots on target - no player has attempted more in a single Premier League game this season.
- Thirteen of Bakary Sako's last 18 league goals have come on home soil.
- The Eagles did not score a single Premier League own goal last season; they have scored two in their last two games.
- Crystal Palace have only lost one of their last seven Premier League encounters with Aston Villa, winning four and drawing two.
- The Villans have scored just three goals in their last 11 trips to London in the Premier League.
Line-ups
Crystal Palace
- 12McCarthy
- 2WardBooked at 18mins
- 6Dann
- 27Delaney
- 23Souaré
- 18McArthur
- 7CabayeBooked at 50minsSubstituted forJedinakat 82'minutes
- 11ZahaSubstituted forGayleat 45'minutes
- 42PuncheonBooked at 90mins
- 26Sako
- 17MurraySubstituted forMutchat 45'minutes
Substitutes
- 8Bamford
- 13Hennessey
- 14Lee
- 15Jedinak
- 16Gayle
- 22Mutch
- 34Kelly
Aston Villa
- 1Guzan
- 7BacunaBooked at 86mins
- 4Richards
- 6ClarkBooked at 84mins
- 23Amavi
- 8Gueye
- 24C SánchezSubstituted forTraoréat 69'minutes
- 40Grealish
- 15Westwood
- 39GestedeBooked at 55mins
- 11Agbonlahor
Substitutes
- 2Baker
- 9Sinclair
- 17Veretout
- 19J Ayew
- 20Traoré
- 21Hutton
- 31Bunn
- Referee:
- Keith Stroud
- Attendance:
- 25,295
Match Stats
Home TeamCrystal PalaceAway TeamAston Villa
- Possession
- Home50%
- Away50%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away11
- Shots on Target
- Home6
- Away2
- Corners
- Home6
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home12
- Away15
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 2, Aston Villa 1.
Hand ball by Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa).
Foul by Jordan Amavi (Aston Villa).
Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Booking
Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Adama Traoré (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace).
Foul by Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa).
Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Goal!
Goal! Crystal Palace 2, Aston Villa 1. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Scott Dann.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Leandro Bacuna.
Booking
Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card.
Booking
Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa).
Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is too high following a set piece situation.
Adama Traoré (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Pape Souaré (Crystal Palace).
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Mile Jedinak replaces Yohan Cabaye.
Offside, Crystal Palace. Scott Dann tries a through ball, but Jordon Mutch is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Pape Souaré.
Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa).
Goal!
Own Goal by Pape Souaré, Crystal Palace. Crystal Palace 1, Aston Villa 1.
Attempt missed. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from long range on the right misses to the right. Assisted by Yohan Cabaye following a set piece situation.
Foul by Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa).
Jordon Mutch (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Brad Guzan.
Attempt saved. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Dwight Gayle.
Goal!
Goal! Crystal Palace 1, Aston Villa 0. Scott Dann (Crystal Palace) header from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Jason Puncheon with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Ashley Westwood.
Attempt missed. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by James McArthur.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match (Aston Villa).
Substitution
Substitution, Aston Villa. Adama Traoré replaces Carlos Sánchez.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Scott Dann (Crystal Palace).
Attempt missed. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Joel Ward.
Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
