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Aston Villa mounted an electrifying comeback, sealing a 3-1 triumph against Crystal Palace with a contentious penalty from Douglas Luiz and a last-minute goal by Leon Bailey.
With the match tied with only three minutes of regular time remaining, Villa was awarded a penalty in the fourth minute of added time.
The decision survived a prolonged VAR review, during which referee Darren England and his officials consulted the pitchside monitor, ultimately upholding the call. Luiz then calmly converted the penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time to put Villa in the lead.
Palace’s assistant manager, Paddy McCarthy, who filled in for the unwell Roy Hodgson, voiced his dissatisfaction with the decision and remarked that the outcome left a “bitter taste.”
He declared, “The result leaves a very bitter taste in our mouths. If it takes five minutes to make a decision, that says it all. People in the studio requested him to review it. Whatever he saw on the monitor didn’t change his mind.”
In the absence of manager Hodgson, Palace believed they were headed for victory following Odsonne Edouard’s early second-half goal. However, substitute Jhon Duran blasted a resounding equalizer to level the score late in the game.
Nine minutes of stoppage time were tacked on, and in a thrilling conclusion to the match, Unai Emery’s team had the opportunity to secure all three points after referee England pointed to the spot when Ollie Watkins was fouled by Chris Richards.
England controversially adhered to his initial decision, and Luiz made no mistake, igniting Villa’s celebrations before Bailey found the net, propelling Villa past Palace into seventh place.