Aston Villa secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Villa Park on Saturday, with the Eagles shooting themselves in the foot with an own goal and a red card.
The Villans started the game brightly, with Jack Grealish and Anwar El Ghazi both having chances to open the scoring in the first half. However, it was Palace who had the best chance of the half, with Wilfried Zaha forcing a good save from Tom Heaton.
The second half started in similar fashion, with both sides having chances to break the deadlock. However, it was Villa who eventually took the lead in the 65th minute, albeit in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. Palace defender Mamadou Sakho attempted to clear a cross from El Ghazi, but instead diverted the ball into his own net.
The Eagles were then reduced to 10 men in the 75th minute when James McArthur was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Grealish. The Villans then held on for the remainder of the game to secure the three points.
The result sees Villa move up to 11th in the Premier League table, while Palace remain in 14th. The Eagles will now have to regroup ahead of their next game against Manchester United, while Villa will be looking to build on their victory when they face West Ham United.
Overall, it was a hard-fought victory for Villa, with Palace shooting themselves in the foot with an own goal and a red card. The Villans will now be looking to build on this result and push up the table, while Palace will be hoping to bounce back from this defeat and get back to winning ways.