​Chris Wood headed in a late winner as Burnley came from behind twice to grab an unlikely victory against Aston Villa in a thrilling match at Turf Moor.

Villa had been 2-1 ahead with 14 minutes remaining before Dwight McNeil’s low cross evaded everyone for an equaliser and the midfielder then crossed for Wood to score Burnley’s third.

The visitors dominated the first half and had gone in front when Ollie Watkins flicked the ball into the net following Matt Targett’s low cross from the left.

After a number of fine saves by Clarets goalkeeper Nick Pope, the hosts levelled through Ben Mee’s header, only for Villa to regain the lead with Jack Grealish’s half-volley.

But Burnley, who had only scored five times in their previous eight home Premier League matches this season, found two more goals to ease their relegation concerns.

They remain 15th in the table, but are now nine points ahead of 18th-placed Fulham, who drew 0-0 at fellow strugglers Brighton.
“In the second half I was very proud and super pleased,” said Burnley boss Sean Dyche.

“We didn’t have a handle on the game in the first half but the mentality was excellent and in the second half they were really working hard.”

Villa have now only won one game in six in all competitions and manager Dean Smith felt this was a missed three points.

He said: “The game should’ve been over at half-time, the chances we created, they were quality chances.

“I’m disappointed because that’s an opportunity wasted. I don’t take plusses from this game at all. We did enough to get the points, so not happy.”

Superb Pope performance denies Villa

For Villa, who stay 10th, they will be wondering how they failed to take all three points and then left Lancashire empty-handed.

Within three minutes, the away side should have gone ahead when Ezri Konsa headed over when well placed, before Watkins was the first of many players to be denied by England international Pope.

Watkins flicked Villa into a 13th-minute lead, but Pope then saved from the impressive Grealish and in a one-on-one chance with Watkins, with Ross Barkley then shooting against the crossbar with the rebound.

But Villa kept on creating chances as Bertrand Traore’s strike was blocked by Mee, with Pope showing great reflexes to then save Tyrone Mings’ follow-up. Targett was the next man to be frustrated and the missed opportunities continued to come in the second half with John McGinn also denied.

With the score at 1-1, Grealish, following a superb individual run from the halfway line, saw his strike blocked by Pope, although Grealish then got a deserved goal before Pope then stopped Watkins making it 3-1 to Villa.

The hosts ended strongly and goals from McNeil and Wood, both coming inside a three-minute spell, gave Burnley the three points.

Burnley battle for third win in seven days

When these two sides met in December at Villa Park, it ended in a 0-0 draw and the point was enough to take the Clarets out of the relegation zone.

Since then, they have won four of seven Premier League matches, including a 1-0 victory at reigning champions Liverpool on 21 January - becoming the first team to win a Premier League game at Anfield since April 2017.

Just like that victory against Jurgen Klopp’s side, Sean Dyche will be extremely proud of his team for not giving up when they looked like being overwhelmed.

A tough first half for them against Villa saw away goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez barely troubled with Robbie Brady’s 25-yard strike that went well over one of only a handful of attempts at goal.

Dyche brought on Jack Cork for Josh Brownhill at half-time and the Clarets performed much better after the break.

Villa’s misses proved costly as Mee headed an equaliser early in the second half from Ashley Westwood’s corner and they could have taken the lead but Wood was denied by Martinez.

Despite Grealish restoring Villa’s lead, the hosts did not let their heads drop and equalised through McNeil. However, the goal had a slice of luck to it as his low cross was aimed for substitute Matej Vydra, with the ball evading everyone and going into the far corner of the net.

But there was nothing fortunate about the winner as Wood’s fourth goal of the campaign gave Burnley back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season.

It seals a great week for the Clarets as they have now won three times inside seven days after also beating Fulham 3-0 away from home in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

*Aston Villa boss Dean Smith, speaking to Match of the Day:*

“Pope has made some really good saves but the game should’ve been out of sight.

“It’s very tough to win any game in this league and we have started the season so well but you can’t get three points the way we played.

“We didn’t do the basics well enough in the second half. They were a bit fortunate with the second goal but no excuses.”

"The defending from the set-piece for the first goal wasn’t good enough, then they just put a hopeful ball into the box and we didn’t defend it well enough.

“With the mentality of these players, I’m disappointed tonight because that’s an opportunity wasted. I don’t take plusses from this game at all. We did enough to get the points, so not happy.”
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*The Guardian*
*Wednesday, 27 January 2021*

*Chris Wood’s header caps comeback as Burnley sink Aston Villa 3-2*

​Dean Smith was in “disbelief” that Aston Villa were not heading back to Birmingham with all three points after they twice surrendered a one‑goal lead before going on to lose 3-2 at Burnley.

Chris Wood capped a sensational comeback from Burnley in an entertaining encounter at Turf Moor.

“The word I would use is disbelief,” Smith said. “We should have been at least three goals up at half-time and it would have been game over. I just said to the players: ‘It’s a difficult league to win in,’ but we’ve just thrown three points away with really poor defending and basic errors, really.”

The Clarets ended Liverpool’s long unbeaten run at home in the Premier League but were outplayed in the first half by Villa, who only had Ollie Watkins’s 10th goal of the season to show for their dominance.

“I said to the players at half-time, ‘I don’t think they can be as strong in the second half and we can do miles better’,” the Burnley manager, Sean Dyche said. “There was no shouting or screaming, it was just pointing out what I felt was the obvious. The second half was a completely different feel. The mentality to see the game through and do what you need to do to win a game, we’ve never been short of that, I don’t feel.”

Burnley capitalised as Ben Mee converted Ashley Westwood’s corner and although Jack Grealish restored Villa’s lead, the visitors were left stunned after a lucky goal from Dwight McNeil and Wood’s header.

McNeil was attempting to cross but his ball into the area trickled into the net inside the final quarter of an hour before he provided the assist for Wood moments later, as Burnley scored three for the second game in a row.

However, their 3-0 win at Fulham came in the FA Cup and they had only scored five times at home in the league this season before Wednesday night, while the last time they bagged three in a top-flight game was last February.

They were slow out of the traps here after Sean Dyche brought back most of his first-choice stars, having rested them for the fourth-round win at Craven Cottage, but they rallied superbly after the interval.

Ezri Konsa seemed surprised to be unchallenged as he wastefully put a free header over and when Josh Brownhill failed to get the ball under control, Villa’s swift counterattack ended with Watkins shooting at Nick Pope. Watkins did better moments later, though, getting across Mee and inventively flicking Matt Targett’s low cross to the near post beyond a helpless Pope as Villa’s free-flowing move was rewarded with a 14th-minute opener.

Grealish fired at Pope before the influential Villa captain teed up Bertrand Traoré, who curled wide, as the visitors remained in the ascendancy although they were unable to capitalise on a number of chances.

Watkins burst clean through on goal but took one touch too many, allowing Pope to smother the shot and while the loose ball ballooned to Ross Barkley, the on-loan Chelsea midfielder’s volley clattered the crossbar. Burnley were scrambling at the back shortly afterwards as Traoré found plenty of the space in the area only for his effort to be blocked by Mee, allowing the under-pressure hosts to reach half-time trailing by just one goal.

Dyche reacted by introducing Jack Cork for the first time in the league this season, withdrawing Brownhill, but the one-way traffic continued as John McGinn forced Pope into action again with a strike from distance.

Villa’s profligacy came back to haunt them as Burnley equalised in the 52nd minute in a rare foray forward. Nobody tracked Mee’s run to the back post and he rose highest at the back post to score from Burnley’s first corner.

The leveller brought greater urgency and intent from Burnley. They were almost exposed by Grealish, who breezed past four defenders before shooting at Pope, but there was no denying the England midfielder in the 68th minute.

After Wood forced Emiliano Martínez into an acrobatic save at the other end, Grealish stretched to toe-poke into the net following a successful give and go with Douglas Luiz, who picked out his captain with a low cross.

Burnley once again pegged Villa back eight minutes later although it was a fortuitous goal as McNeil’s low cross from the left evaded everyone in the area before trickling beyond Martínez and in at the far post.

The topsy-turvy nature of the game continued as Burnley took the lead for the first time in the 79th minute, with McNeil turning provider as his left-wing cross led to Wood heading home after rising above Targett.
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