For the first time this season Aston Villa has broken its perfect home record. On Sunday at Villa Park Birmingham were shocked by a 0–1 loss to Everton in the 22nd round of the English Premier League. Thierno Barry scored the lone goal, securing three big points for his manager Sean Dyche and his team.
Both sides had plenty of quality opportunities during a hard fought and competitive game, but only one side would score. Thierno Barry arrived at the right time to be in the right place, and he coolly dispatched the ball past the keeper (59’) to leave the stunned Villa Park crowd and the visibly frustrated Aston Villa bench of manager Unai Emery, in shock. This marked the first time Aston Villa lost at Villa Park in the English Premier League since losing 0–3 to Crystal Palace back in August of 2025. Since then, Aston Villa has put together a remarkable string of 11 consecutive home wins in all competition – which is arguably the longest stretch of consecutive home wins in the English Premier League.
After this loss, Aston Villa remain in a very favorable position in the standings – 43 points and 3rd place in the English Premier League, firmly in the discussion for the final spot(s) in the UEFA Champions League. Meanwhile, Everton jumped up to 10th in the standings with 32 points and appear to be in solid position in the middle of the standings, and may even start to think about making a push for European qualification.
Everton – goal.com
The potential negative implications of this loss could be felt throughout the rest of the season for Aston Villa manager Unai Emery and the rest of the squad. The road ahead will be difficult, as the teams competing for the remaining top 4 positions in the English Premier League will not give them any room to breathe. However, the overall level and consistency that Aston Villa has demonstrated thus far this season is quite high – and it will take much more than a single bad day to remove themselves from the running for the top spots in the English Premier League.
Also on Sunday, the last-place team in the standings, Wolverhampton, earned a crucial 0–0 draw at Newcastle United, potentially earning them a vital point in the fight for survival. Newcastle United continue to struggle to find any form of consistency and were disappointed once again with the outcome of their match.
The English Premier League continues to narrow and become more exciting at both the top and bottom of the standings with each passing round.
