Aston Villa 2-2 Crystal Palace: Ross Barkley spares host’s blushes with late header to deny Oliver Glasner’s side a precious win in the rain

The rain poured all afternoon in Birmingham and the wind swirled around Villa Park.

And amid the torrential downpour, Unai Emery and Aston Villa‘s problems were deepening until Ross Barkley salvaged a point against Crystal Palace in a thrilling game, 13 minutes from time.

Not since November 2021 when a Villa side managed by Dean Smith lost five on the trot had they endured such a run. It was a run that resulted in the sacking of Smith.

For Emery himself, four defeats in a row going into this game was a first in a managerial career spanning over a thousand games.

A point will do little to please him after a game where Villa dominated possession but were far too open defensively and missed a crucial first-half penalty, when the score was one apiece.

Oliver Glasner‘s Palace took the lead twice through Ismaila Sarr and Justin Devenny in a half where Ollie Watkins equalised and Youri Tielemans‘s penalty was saved spectacularly by Dean Henderson. Despite Barkley’s second-half equaliser, Villa remain winless since October 22 and have now gone six games without a win in all competitions.

Ross Barkley (left) was the hero for Aston Villa as he rescued a point on Saturday afternoon

The midfielder rose highest late in th game to nod in an equaliser in the torrential rain

It was a goal that spared the blushes of boss Unai Emery on a day that threatened defeat

Emery gave Ian Maatsen his first Premier League start, with Lucas Digne benched but Maatsen could do nothing to deny Sarr, who gave Palace a surprise early lead.

Four minutes in, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s through ball found Sarr, who held off Maatsen and finished wonderfully past Emiliano Martinez in front of the Holte End.

It was his first Premier League goal for Palace on his 12th appearance and the shock was perhaps illustrated best by Glasner’s facial expressions in the Palace dugout.

Villa’s lacklusture start was summed up minutes later when Morgan Rogers, who signed a new contract earlier this week, scuffed his effort from inside the box after Leon Bailey teed him up.

It took Villa until the 28th minute to test Henderson, who made a brilliant stop to deny Watkins. Rogers played a sumptuous ball to Watkins, who cut in and tried to beat his Engand teammate on the near post but Henderson was equal to the task.

Watkins wasn’t to be kept out for long though and in the 37th minute, he rounded Henderson and finished into an empty net after a lovely through ball from John McGinn.

For Watkins, it was his first goal for Villa since October 19 and it was a goal that woke Villa Park up, with Leon Bailey rattling the crossbar shortly after.

Villa really should have been ahead at the break but instead found themselves behind after a dramatic passage of play.

Ismaila Sarr (left) got the opening goal of the game as Villa continued to be too lax defensively

Ollie Watkins managed to fire them back level as the home crowd roared Emery’s side on

Things unravelled before the half when Palace restored their lead through Justin Devenny

Referee Tim Robinson was advised by Alex Chilowicz on VAR duty to check for a potential penalty after Bailey went down inside the box.

Robinson awarded the penalty, which McGinn handed to Tielemans but Henderson saved brilliantly and from the resulting corner-kick, Palace countered up the other end and took the lead.

Sarr squared to Devenny, who made his Northern Ireland debut over the international break and the 21-year-old finished to cue wild celebrations with Henderson delivering a knee slide in front of the travelling fans.

From a Villa perspective, it was nothing less than shambolic just a fortnight after Liverpool ruthlessly exploited their weakness in terms of having such a high line from their own setpieces.

At half-time, Emery put on Matty Cash for Lamare Bogarde and Villa made a bright start, with Maxence Lacroix making a superb tackle to deny Watkins, who was about to pull the trigger from 12 yards.

Palace had a chance of their own to double their advantage but Mateta headed straight at Martinez from Tyrick Mitchell’s cross.

Emery’s side came into this game on the back of four defeats but this helps stop the rot

With time running out, Emery threw on Jhon Duran as Villa hoped for some more magic from the super sub.

They had an appeal for a penalty waved down by Robinson after Watkins went down inside the box but minutes later, they levelled when Barkley headed in from Tielemans’s corner.

But it was Palace who came closest to winning the game when Martinez tipped Jeffrey Schupp’s strike onto the post.

For Villa, who were booed off and welcome Juventus in the Champions League midweek before a trip to Chelsea next Sunday, things must improve quick.