Douglas Luiz loitered into the Bournemouth area and tapped in an easy finish after Leon Bailey's low ball, giving Aston Villa their first first-half goal in six matches against the visitors of the day. The move tore apart Gary O'Neil's team, but after spending a considerable amount of time on the back foot, Bournemouth rallied and ultimately challenged the Villans with Dominic Solanke's attempt.
Ollie Watkins of Villa immediately responded with a shot of his own, but Neto of the Cherries made a fantastic save to preserve the score at one. Amazingly, minutes before halftime, the hosts were denied what seemed to be a clear penalty as Jack Stephens diverted a goal-bound attempt with his hand. But, VAR instructed Robert Jones to wave play on, completely shocking the home fans.
By the start of the second session, the Villans increased their pressure, maybe prompted by the unfavorable decision. But, it was Philip Billing who, from a booming free-kick, came agonizingly close to scoring the equalizer, prompting Emiliano Martnez to jump like a salmon to defend his side's slim advantage. A few minutes later, Solanke squandered a great one-on-one chance, but not before match officials rejected yet another disputed penalty plea from Unai Emery's team for an apparent handball. When Jacob Ramsey completed an amazing solo move with a less-than-clinical finish, the Cherries were finally made to pay for their mistakes. Emiliano Buendia then ended the game with a header two minutes before full time.
Despite unfavorable rulings, Villa Park managed to earn their first head-to-head victory in five games, boosting their chances of finishing in the top half of the Premier League for the first time since 2010–11. In sharp contrast, Bournemouth's difficulties to get out of the bottom half of the league standings continued as the league's weakest defense suffered yet another away loss.
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