Aston Villa's relentless climb up the table was temporarily halted as Evanilson, Bournemouth's £31.7 million summer signing, scored an unexpected equalizer in the seventh minute of stoppage time. The Brazilian, brought in as a replacement for Dominic Solanke from Porto, expertly headed the ball into the far corner of Emiliano Martínez's net from Marcus Tavernier's free-kick, just as Villa seemed poised to stay within three points of Manchester City in the Premier League's top three.
Ross Barkley's 76th-minute goal, his first since returning to Villa, meant that eight goals for each club had now been scored or assisted by substitutes. Villa were not at their best, but whether this was another case of a letdown after a major event depends on one's perspective. This performance was certainly better than the goalless draw against Manchester United that followed the euphoric victory over Bayern Munich; however, a third consecutive European victory over Bologna was less of a high for Villa to come down from.
In many ways, the stalemate was due to Mark Travers, Bournemouth's deputy goalkeeper, making some brilliant saves and a VAR decision going against Ollie Watkins in the first half. Watkins was ruled to have pulled the ball back from over the byline before he set up John McGinn to score in the 28th minute after Jacob Ramsey broke down the inside-left channel. Travers, filling in for the injured Kepa Arrizabalaga, made a series of memorable saves, notably from Ezri Konsa just before halftime and Pau Torres' shot just after the hour mark. These saves proved crucial as Bournemouth, fresh from their win over Arsenal last Saturday, demonstrated their resilience.
As he had done against Bologna on Tuesday, Emery replaced Amadou Onana with the more attack-minded Barkley at halftime to partner Youri Tielemans. With John McGinn, Ramsey, and Morgan Rogers supporting Watkins, Villa were fully committed to securing the win. Their full-backs also pushed forward, showing that fortune favors the brave. Struggling to break down Bournemouth with their usual vigor and pace, Villa switched to an all-attacking midfield at halftime, and Barkley scored his first goal back at the club, much to the manager's delight.
Top of the Champions League, these are still exciting times for Villa, who have only lost once in their opening 13 games this season. The hosts scored when Ian Maatsen crossed for Leon Bailey to head down for Barkley to score from close range. However, after six minutes of added time, it was Barkley who earned the 13th caution of the game by fouling Tavernier. Tavernier then delivered the cross from which Evanilson scored his second goal for the club.
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