Crystal Palace 1-2 Aston Villa

Steven Gerrard’s winning start as Aston Villa head coach continued thanks to a hard-fought victory against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Matt Targett fired home his first goal since October 2019 to give the visitors the lead after 15 minutes, with Ashley Young becoming the club’s top assist provider in Premier League history in the process (42).

The away side, who continued to create the better chances, saw substitute Douglas Luiz sent-off after 72 minutes, only for referee Michael Salisbury to overturn the decision on his Premier League debut.

And after restricting Palace to a handful of shots on target, Villa wrapped up the win when John McGinn curled home a stunning first-time shot in the final five minutes.

Marc Guehi struck late in injury time to deny Gerrard's team a clean sheet, but it wasn't enough to stop them picking up a second successive win. 

The Eagles, who hadn’t tasted defeat at home in the top-flight this season, started brightly and had the first sight of goal when Wilfried Zaha dragged a shot narrowly wide after ten minutes.

Villa arrived in south London buoyed by a 2-0 success against Brighton last weekend, and the visitors got themselves in front when Young’s corner found Targett at the back post, with the full-back taking a touch before drilling the ball past a crowd of despairing Palace players.

Both teams were enjoying their fair share of the ball as the first half wore on, but the chances kept falling Villa’s way, with McGinn curling a first-time effort inches past Vicente Guaita’s far post.

Villa had only won once at Selhurst Park in the last 41 years – a 1-0 success back in 2014 – but they were growing in confidence with each passing minute, regularly causing the hosts’ backline problems.

Ollie Watkins had two shouts for a penalty waved away as Gerrard’s side continued to push forward, but they were left to settle for a one-goal lead at half-time.

Palace started the second half keen to assert themselves on their opponents, but after a spell of pressure, it was Villa who came close to finding the second goal of the game.

After letting Leon Bailey strike the previous free-kick around the home side’s penalty box, Young stepped up and curled the ball over the wall, watching on as it dipped sharply onto the top of the net.

Luiz, returning after a three-game absence, was on the pitch for less than five minutes when he was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Cheikou Kouyate.

Referee Salisbury, officiating his first top-flight match, was advised to view the incident again on the pitchside monitor, eventually downgrading the card to a yellow.

After 80 minutes, Palace finally struck a shot on target, with Emiliano Martinez saving from Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard in quick succession.

Having weathered the storm, a slick move by Villa killed the game off after 85 minutes, with McGinn sending a superb curling shot past Guaita.

Palace had rarely threatened but they finally found a route to goal when Guehi tapped home from close-range in stoppage time.