The Birmingham team snatched a draw in the 90+7th minute, but ended their fantastic winning streak.
Aston Villa unexpectedly failed to beat Sheffield United in the home match of the 18th round of the English Premier League (EPL) . The match at the Villa Park stadium in Birmingham ended with a score of 1:1 .
Unai Emery's team acted predictably as the first number and had a huge advantage in ball possession – 78% to 22%. The “Lions” also outnumbered their opponents in terms of the number of shots – 11 to 5 (on target – 4:2).
However, the hosts failed to score for a long time. In the 59th minute, Leon Bailey hit the visitors' goal, but after VAR intervention the goal was canceled due to a foul.
Three minutes before the end of normal time, Sheffield United took advantage of almost their only chance and took the lead after a set piece – Cameron Archer scored against his former club.
The Birmingham team desperately tried to come back and achieved this goal in stoppage time. In the 90+7th minute, Nicolo Zaniolo headed in a cross from Douglas Louis and saved the Lions a draw.
Review of the match “Aston Villa” – “Sheffield United”
Thus, Anton Villa interrupted its amazing streak of 15 consecutive victories in home Premier League matches, which is an absolute record in the club's 149-year history. The last time Emery's men lost in Birmingham was back in February 2023 to Arsenal with a score of 2:4.
Aston Villa (39 points) moved into second place in the Premier League, pushing Liverpool (38 points) to third. At the same time, Emery's team missed the opportunity to overtake Arsenal in the standings (39 points), which is in the lead, ahead of the Birmingham team in additional indicators. On Saturday, December 23, Liverpool will host Arsenal in the central match of the 18th round of the English Championship.
In turn, Sheffield United with 9 points is in the relegation zone from the Premier League in the penultimate 19th line.
In the next round, Aston Villa will play away against Manchester United on December 26, and Sheffield United will host Luton on the same day.
