Ross Barkley header helps Aston Villa salvage a point against Crystal Palace | Premier League

Dean Smith was the last Aston Villa manager to lose five games in a row and he was sacked for the failure. The situation was not so dire for Unai Emery, but he had to end a run of four consecutive defeats, although he will wonder how his side did not beat Crystal Palace.

Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley equalized twice for Aston Villa, who also saw a Youri Tielemans penalty saved after they were hammered on the break by Palace, resulting in Ismaila Sarr and Justin Devenny giving them the lead. Villa were dominant from the start but lacked the cutting edge expected of a Champions League side.

The home fans at Villa Park were somewhat subdued in the early minutes as the hosts had the majority of possession but looked passive with it. The mood worsened when Palace quickly broke in the fourth minute as Jean-Philippe Mateta sliced ​​open the defense and Sarr sprinted from the halfway line and held off Ian Maatsen as he went before slotting past Emiliano Martínez to the sound of silence, except in one. corner of the earth.

Villa were measured and composed in their build-up play, pinning Palace back for long periods. Lots of crosses were sent into the box but Dean Henderson and his three centre-backs were able to deal with them. Watkins was the first to test the keeper when Leon Bailey played a long pass from deep, allowing the England forward to stretch his legs before smashing a shot into the bottom corner which Henderson did well to keep out.

Unai Emery was clearly worried on the touchline and sent constant instructions and gestures in an attempt to make his side less heavy to turn things around. It paid off as Villa won the ball inside their own half and moved it quickly to John McGinn who saw another clever Watkins run. The weight of the pass was enough to tease Henderson into thinking he could beat the striker to the ball, but there was only one winner, allowing Watkins to round the keeper and tap home for his first goals in six Villa- matches.

The equalizer gave Villa further energy and Bailey quickly hit the bar as they looked to complete the turnaround. Bailey was the protagonist of the penalty when Will Hughes stepped on his ankle inside the box. Referee Tim Robinson gave nothing but was sent over to the screen by colleagues. It seemed harsh to overturn the original decision and Hughes watched the replay on the big screen with a bemused smile. There was a further laugh when Henderson dived to his left to superbly palm away Youri Tielemans’ spot-kick.

Henderson celebrated in front of the away man almost immediately as Palace broke from the resulting corner and Devenny swept home his first goal for the club on the 21-year-old’s second appearance for Palace after a fluid move from back to front.

The visitors had their backs against the wall with 11 men consistently behind the ball as they aimed to hold on for victory. It seemed inevitable that they would fail to do so and it was Barkley who equalized from a Tielemans corner. The midfielder was given too much space at the near post before running away and sucking his thumb in celebration.

Jeffrey Schlupp almost produced a surprise winner for Palace when he hit the post with 10 minutes remaining, but the two had to settle for a point. Juventus are next for Villa and they will need to step up.