Aston Villa misses chance to climb to top of Premier League after being retained by Sheffield United
Yoa match that delivered exactly the kind of entertainment you want from a pre-Christmas match, Aston Villa lost two points in his bet for the first division title after drawing 1-1 with a team threatened by relegation SheffieldUnited.
It was a home game that the Midlands club were expected to get through with ease, preparing for their Boxing Day trip to Old Trafford, but the hosts could be accused of taking the Blades lightly on Friday night.
The game started at a frenetic pace and Villa awarded a penalty in the first 10 minutes. In a tumult in the area there was an appeal from the locals that was rejected by Anthony Taylor.
He was then advised to look at the situation on the VAR monitors but, rather unusually, he stood by his original decision not to penalise, much to the fury of the Villa players.
Villa then had their best chance of the game, forcing the goalkeeper Wes Foderingham in action. The former friend of Paolo Di Canio made an acrobatic save by diving low to his right to deflect the ball after Moussa Diaby He hit the ball towards the goal.
The break came with the score of shots on goal 1-0 in favor of Aston VillaThe midfield of both teams having a large part of the ball.
Sheffield United surprised the hosts in the second half
While golden opportunities were not a scarce commodity for townthere was a feeling that a goal would eventually come.
They had control of the ball and were playing quite well, and they thought the elusive goal had finally come on the hour.
Olivia Watkins made a clever cut in front of the goal to Lion Danceand, with the Jamaican international putting the ball into the roof of the net.
However, the VAR intervened again as Antonio Taylor he reviewed the build-up to the goal on the monitor and ultimately decided that a foul had occurred against a Sheffield United defender, forcing him to disallow Villa's goal.
The referee then waved off a handball call with 15 minutes remaining, despite Taylor again being instructed to look at the monitor.
It seemed, therefore, that frustration over repeated refereeing decisions was causing a degree of complacency within the team. villas rows.
They lost defensive discipline and were defeated by a surprisingly impressive match. Sheffield United move. Cameron Archer He took advantage of a perfect pass and fired a shot past the Villa goalkeeper, who had had very little action all night.
Sheffield United They were just minutes away from taking an important victory at Villa Park when Nicolo Zaniolo He scored the equalizer in the seventh minute of added time.
Douglas Luis's A cushioned pass found the Italian in the area and his header went into the back of the net.
