Aston Villa missed a valuable opportunity to strengthen their push for Champions League qualification after being held to a 2 2 draw by relegated Burnley on Sunday at Turf Moor.
Fresh from a dominant 4 0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the Europa League semi final, Villa struggled to maintain momentum and looked fatigued throughout much of the contest.
Burnley took an early lead after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez spilled a shot from Lesley Ugochukwu, allowing Jaidon Anthony to score from close range. Villa responded before halftime when Ross Barkley powered in a header from a corner kick to level the match.
The visitors appeared on course for an important win when Ollie Watkins capitalized on a long clearance from Martinez and calmly finished to put Villa ahead. The goal briefly moved Villa into a stronger position in the race for a top four finish.
However, Burnley refused to back down and found an equalizer through Zian Flemming, who finished brilliantly after a clever flick from Hannibal Mejbri. The result leaves Villa with a narrow advantage over rivals chasing Champions League places, but difficult fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City still await.
Elsewhere, Everton were held to a 2 2 draw by Crystal Palace despite leading twice during the match. Goals from James Tarkowski and Beto were canceled out by Ismaila Sarr and Jean Philippe Mateta, damaging Everton’s hopes of securing European football next season.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest earned a late 1 1 draw against Newcastle United thanks to Elliott Anderson’s equalizer after Harvey Barnes had opened the scoring for Newcastle.
At the top of the table, Arsenal remain in control of the title race despite Manchester City securing a 3 0 victory over Brentford on Saturday.
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