Aston Villa moved out of the relegation zone with victory against Burnley at Turf Moor despite having a goal ruled out for a marginal offside by the video assistant referee system system.

Jack Grealish thought he had put Villa ahead, nodding in Ezri Konsa’s cross, but striker Wesley was deemed inches offside in the build-up.

Grealish turned provider for Wesley 16 minutes later, before making it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time with a powerful strike inside the box.

Burnley responded in the second half, though it took until the 80th minute for Chris Wood to record their first shot on target - nodding a cross past goalkeeper Tom Heaton at the back post to make it 2-1.

The Villa keeper was then taken off on a stretcher after appearing to jar his knee while trying to keep out Wood’s header and Wesley had been forced off in a similar manner earlier in the half.

Defeat is Burnley’s third in a row in the Premier League, while Villa pick up their first victory on the road since beating Norwich City 5-1 in October.

New year but same old VAR

The year of 2019 ended with VAR controversy at Anfield, Carrow Road and St Mary’s as goals by Pedro Neto, Teemu Pukki and Max Meyer were ruled out after players were deemed marginally offside.

And on a sunny lunchtime at Turf Moor on New Year’s Day, nothing changed.

Grealish’s disallowed goal, which came in the 12th minute and was ruled out following a two-minute VAR consultation, was victim to another marginal offside call which angered fans inside the stadium.

Striker Wesley, who contested an aerial ball during the build-up to the goal, was deemed offside by barely an inch - the back of his heel appearing to cross one of several lines drawn by VAR.

Fans chanted their disapproval of the VAR systems as play resumed and, when Wesley responded to score Aston Villa’s opener, the players were reluctant to celebrate in fear of yet another goal being ruled out.

Even after Grealish doubled the lead - firing past a helpless Nick Pope from inside the box in the first half - fans jeered sarcastically at the kick-off because they had escaped another unfavourable VAR review.

Former Chelsea and England goalkeeper Rob Green said VAR was “clearly not right” on BBC Radio 5 Live, while ex-Tottenham midfielder Andy Reid added it was “just ridiculous”.

“How could that goal be disallowed?” said Reid. “Something needs to be done about it because I’m sick of talking about it and listening to it.”

How you reacted on social media:

Scott Smith: I’m a Birmingham City fan and even I think that VAR decision against Aston Villa was harsh.

Dane: Marginal VAR offsides are anti-football. Why wait for their next fancy meeting to sort it? Convene a meeting now and change it. It’s clearly ruining game after game.

Mark Davies: VAR is a joke and it is ruining game after game. Goal line checks only. That’s it! Ridiculous call at Burnley. It is not as if officials make loads of errors anyway.

Tom Sharpe: VAR is a fantastic piece of technology that should be a terrific addition to the game…but the use of it in football is so questionable and awful that every other game that uses it must look at football like its an idiot.

Adam Heap: I’m a Burnley fan and whether it’s ‘scientifically offside’ or not, that VAR can be used like that is just wrong. I’d be happier for Villa to have that goal.

Poor defending from Burnley as Villa’s formation change pays off

Dean Smith’s side came into the match having picked up just four points away from home and off the back of a poor performance in a 3-0 defeat at 10-man Watford on Saturday.

Smith said “a reaction was needed” prior to kick-off in Burnley and his players responded, creating goalscoring opportunities in both halves and deserving the three points.

The Villa boss mixed things up at Turf Moor, starting with a back three and playing Grealish in a more central role going forward and it paid off.
Grealish was at the heart of everything positive for Villa, playing three key passes and being involved in both goals.

But while Smith received the reaction from his players he had hoped for, there was more head scratching from Sean Dyche as Burnley produced another poor defensive display in the first half.

Twice, Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood gave the ball away in his own half, leading to chances for Douglas Luiz and Wesley.

And James Tarkowski was out-muscled far too easily as Wesley was allowed to turn and shoot in the box in the first half, before a poor clearance from the same centre-back led to Grealish’s disallowed goal.

Burnley did respond in the second half after fans had booed them off at the break - Jay Rodriguez and Johann Berg Gudmundsson coming on as substitutes - but they failed to create many clear-cut opportunities in front of goal.

Rodriguez should have scored when Tarkowski’s low cross bounced off his shin and over the bar from a few yards out, while Wood thumped an effort miles wide from an unmarked position in the box.

Dyche stood on the touchline with his hands on his head and was an agitated figure throughout.

Wood’s header gave Burnley some hope at the end - they put in 34 crosses from open play during the match and pressure built on Villa during the nine-minute spell of stoppage time - but the hosts could not conjure up another shot on target.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith to BBC Match of the Day:

“We changed the system and I thought that we wanted to get on the ball and play. The lads looked really accomplished at it. We’ve only had a couple of days to work on it. A lot of them have played it before at previous clubs. We’ve been conceding too many goals and playing the three helped us get an extra head in the box.

“Burnley is a tough place to come and they know how to stay in this league but we felt we could compete with them. VAR played its part as usual but we scored two great goals as well.

“Jack Grealish is unfortunate to not have two goals today. I’m still not sure why it was disallowed looking at the still image. I thought theirs should’ve been disallowed for a push on Tyrone Mings.”
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*The Guardian*
*Wednesday, 1 January 2020*

Jack Grealish inspires Villa to victory at Burnley after latest VAR controversy

Aston Villa bounced back from their drubbing at Watford to record only their second away win of the season at Burnley, outclassing their opponents on the pitch and closing the gap to them in the league table. A late Burnley goal actually gave the final scoreline a flattering gloss, in the first half in particular Villa were full of running and attacking ideas, with Jack Grealish pulling most of the strings.

Villa enjoyed most of the possession in the first half, used it well and would have turned round even further in front but for the latest VAR outrage. Grealish was most certainly not offside when he skipped away from Phil Bardsley to meet Ezri Konsa’s 11th minute cross with a glancing header, but after the goal had been given and the ball placed on the centre spot ready to restart it became clear that Stockley Park scrutineers were checking whether Wesley’s heel was closer to goal than that of James Tarkowski.

Eventually they decided it was, though the fact the deliberations lasted more than two minutes gives a clue as to how tiny was the margin. The Villa fans at the other end of the ground vented their anti-VAR feelings in the now familiar way, as well they might. The way the technology is being used in this country is anti-goals and anti-excitement, and you don’t get up early on New Year’s Day and brave the M6 to put up with this sort of nonsense.

Not that Villa let the injustice bother them. They kept pressing forward, kept catching the Burnley defence square with the accuracy of their passing, and just before the half hour were rewarded with a splendid goal. Predictably Grealish was again involved, interpassing with Wesley on the edge of the area before his lofted return found the striker with room to shoot. Wesley took the ball on his chest before putting enough power in his right foot volley to beat Nick Pope in the Burnley goal.

The Turf Moor crowd were now starting to berate the home defence for allowing their opponents too much time and space on the ball, though the message went unheeded. On the stroke of half time Burnley stood back and watched as Villa moved the ball smartly from right to left across the edge of the area, until Douglas Luiz’s pass gave Grealish the opportunity to weigh up his shooting options.

Bardsley unwisely stood off the Villa captain as he first shaped to attempt a curler into the top right corner before summoning the accuracy to find the top left corner instead. Grealish has shown time and again this season what he can do in these situations and closing him down quickly is a defensive imperative.

Burnley sent on Jay Rodriguez for the second half and he nearly pulled a goal back almost immediately, shooting too high with little time to react to Tarkowski’s driven cross, though at the other end Villa might have extended their lead but for Pope keeping out an effort from Douglas Luiz.

Burnley put the Villa defence under sustained pressure in the second half without ever really looking like scoring until Wood popped up at the far post to nod in a cross from Ashley Westwood, the tall striker’s glaring miss from a good position a few minutes earlier being more typical of their afternoon.

Tom Heaton was injured in attempting to keep out the header so Villa had to see out a nervy last 10 minutes with a substitute goalkeeper. As Burnley did not manage to put Orjan Nyland to the test apart from obliging him to come out and collect a couple of crosses, the visitors held on for a victory that might have been even more comfortable had Jonathan Kodjia and Luiz not squandered excellent second half opportunities.