Jhon Duran's wonder goal gives Aston Villa a thrilling comeback against Everton | Premier League

Losing once after being 2-0 up could be considered a disgrace; losing twice in a row smacks of carelessness. Not even Oscar Wilde would have invented a script like this, but the narrative around it Everton stretches the bounds of credulity on a weekly basis.

Lee Carsley witnessed the return to action of Ollie Watkins, who was dropped from the England interim's senior first team, to score twice as Aston Villa followed suit. The Bournemouth example giving Everton a two-goal lead before going on to win, this time with a scandalous long-range strike from Jhon Durán.

Villa, who return to European football's top flight on Tuesday when they face Young Boys in the Champions League, moved level on points with second-placed Liverpool.

For Everton, though, this seems to have hit rock bottom. But we said that last time, when they were 2-0 up after 86 minutes. This is the first time they have lost their first four league games since 1958. Next Saturday's visit to Leicester looks important. Having had the third-best defensive record in the division last season, they have already conceded 13 goals this term.

Despite Bournemouth's slump, Everton fans were already in dreamland after half an hour when Dwight McNeil scored and set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but they were plunged back into nightmare territory when Watkins pulled one back before the break. If Calvert-Lewin had scored after coming on without any problems shortly after the break, “it would have been 3-1 and we wouldn't have to talk about it,” said Sean Dyche.

The Everton boss also noted that, having lost Séamus Coleman to injury during the international break and with Jarrad Branthwaite not yet ready to return, the loss of Vitalii Mykolenko to illness during the first half necessitated further reshuffling.

No one could complain about the value for money in a heady and exciting match. The proposed protest against Villa prices The Champions League ticket offer (£100 for non-season ticket holders) sold out before kick-off and Unai Emery's side got off to a flying start before Everton scored their goals.

Everton fans were chanting Amadou Onana's name after their former player, who joined Villa for £50m in the summer, started the game slowly and was stripped of the ball by McNeil, who fired into the bottom corner. He became the first Everton player to score a league goal at Villa Park since Romelu Lukaku.

Then McNeil, relishing his central attacking role, curled in a free-kick from the right for Calvert-Lewin to time his run perfectly and follow up his goal against Bournemouth by heading in from close range.

Everton, however, remain vulnerable. At a club where a prospective owner can begin to question their manager’s selection policy even before he has sold his shares in his current club (John Textor asked whether Dyche was the type to pick more sophisticated players), Everton fans are too used to things going wrong even when they appear to be going right.

So when Watkins leapt high to head in Lucas Digne's left-wing cross for his first goal of the season, everyone in the stadium was expecting some delicious drama.

Villa had a host of great chances, their positive substitutions made them even more potent, but Calvert-Lewin will rue the opportunity he missed, after McNeil cleared it only to allow Ezri Konsa to catch up and clear after he had rounded Emiliano Martinez.

Watkins equalised after four minutes but Jack Harrison, who denied Youri Tielemans' great pass to Digne, only managed to pass straight to the England striker six yards from goal, who slotted home with delight.

With Emery rotating his ever-deepening squad in this first of seven games in three weeks, a winner seemed inevitable. Sure enough, Duran had a magical goal 14 minutes from time, unleashing a lightning-fast shot from 30 yards into the top corner, his third goal coming off the bench this season.

“I’ve watched him from behind and seen how the ball moved,” Martinez said. “He was unstoppable. If he can keep it up he can be a big threat. He can be one of the best strikers in the world but he needs to keep his feet on the ground and work hard. He’s got one of England’s best strikers (Watkins) playing in front of him.”

Calvert-Lewin still had time to fire against the crossbar. What price? Premier League Excitement like this?