In a thrilling Premier League match, Crystal Palace secured their second consecutive win with a commanding 4-1 victory over Aston Villa. The Eagles’ star player, Ismaila Sarr, celebrated his 27th birthday by scoring a brace, marking his special day with a memorable performance.

Sarr opened the scoring in the 29th minute, capitalizing on a header from Chris Richards that Emiliano Martinez could only parry. The goal set the tone for a dominant performance by the Eagles, who had only secured their third top-flight victory at Selhurst Park this season.

Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah also contributed to the scoreboard, with Mateta’s thunderous effort and Nketiah’s late goal adding further gloss to the victory. Despite Morgan Rogers’ equalizer in the 52nd minute, Palace’s relentless pressure paid off, with Mateta and Sarr sealing the win.

How the Match Unfolded

Palace drew first blood in the 29th minute. Emiliano Martinez could only parry Chris Richards’ header from an Adam Wharton cross straight to Sarr, who made no mistake from close range. Sarr and Mateta squandered decent opportunities to double Palace’s lead, before Villa thought they had equalised. Morgan Rogers tucked the ball in from Ollie Watkins’ clever cutback, only for the goal to be disallowed following a VAR review, which ruled the creator had strayed marginally offside.

Nevertheless, the same combination drew the visitors level in the 52nd minute. Watkins flicked on a long kick from substitute goalkeeper Robin Olsen – on at half-time for Martinez – and Rogers latched onto it. He still had plenty to do, but having taken a fine first touch with his head, the youngster drilled in with an improvised finish on the turn.

Villa were level for just seven minutes, though. Wharton and Eberechi Eze combined to tee up Mateta, who confidently fired home. Sarr scored his second goal with a superbly steered volley from Daniel Munoz’s centre in the 71st minute, and Nketiah added his name to the scoresheet in stoppage time when he turned in Tyrick Mitchell’s low cross.

Wonderful Wharton Makes His Case to Tuchel

Given their impressive form on the road, the target for Palace was to transfer it to Selhurst Park, and they certainly did that in this match. England head coach Thomas Tuchel watched from the stands, and he will have been very impressed by the performance of the returning Wharton.

Making his first league start since October after three successive substitute appearances, the 21-year-old produced an all-action display in the middle of the park, and also had an involvement in all three goals. Two of them were finished excellently by Sarr, who made his mark on his special day. His first goal was a case of being in the right place at the right time, but his second was a cutely guided effort.

Mateta, who scored a hat-trick when Palace won the corresponding fixture last season 5-0, was also the scourge of Villa once more, as he got the crucial goal that propelled the Eagles back into the lead.

Palace will head into Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Millwall full of confidence, before their next two Premier League fixtures come against sides in the bottom three, Ipswich Town and Southampton. After a shaky start to the campaign, a top-half finish could be on the cards for the Eagles.

Villa’s Away Woes Roll On

Buoyed by their comeback win over Chelsea, Villa started brightly at Selhurst Park, with Youri Tielemans heading wide and Jacob Ramsey having a smart finish ruled out for offside, before Sarr put them behind. Unai Emery’s side would not have been panicking at that point, though, with no team collecting more points from losing positions in the Premier League this season ahead of this matchweek.

They responded well with Rogers, who was thwarted in the first half, not to be denied after the break. His link-up play with Watkins will also have caught the eye of the onlooking Tuchel, who takes charge of England for the first time next month. But the visitors always looked vulnerable to Palace’s pace and power at the other end of the field, and so it proved.

Villa could have moved into fifth place with a win, but instead they are now 10th, having missed a great chance to apply more pressure on their rivals for European qualification. They have now lost seven of their last nine away league matches, winning only twice on the road since the start of September.

However, Emery’s men must quickly dust themselves down. Cardiff City await them in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday, before they face Club Brugge in the Champions League.

What the Managers Said

Oliver Glassner: “Everybody is happy. Everybody is pleased with the win. Congrats to the players for this great performance. Really pleased today. We had a good first half. Momentum of the game can change when you face a team with the quality of Villa. We didn’t allow the momentum changes, and we kept going. We were very aggressive and waited for our chances. We scored fantastic goals, all the credit to the players. They matched us, but the players know what they have to do, and they did it in a fantastic intensity. We talked about what we want to do and what we need to do. The result is the consequence of a great performance.”

Unai Emery: “We played fantastic in our gameplan in the first 30 minutes. We were dominating and attacking the box. We had one goal [ruled out]. Then we conceded one goal and we progressed being worse. The second half we didn’t start very good. We tried to keep the gameplan consistency. They were getting some transitions and getting better than us in the duels. After today, with a loss, it is difficult to try to explain everything. We have to move on and be motivated in the competitions – FA Cup and Champions League and get the balance in the Premier League.”

Key Facts and Insights

Palace have won six of their last seven home Premier League matches against Villa (L1), scoring 2.7 goals on average per fixture during that spell. The last two times Palace have scored 4+ goals in a league match have both been against Villa at Selhurst Park (also 5-0 in May 2024).

Sarr became just the third Palace player to score a Premier League goal on his birthday after Christian Benteke (v Bournemouth in 2016) and Luka Milivojavic (v Southampton in 2018).

Mateta has scored eight Premier League goals in 2025 – the joint-most of any player in the competition alongside Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. The Frenchman has now recorded eight goal involvements in his last six top-flight games against Villa (five goals, three assists).

Only Ollie Watkins (13) has scored more goals across all competitions for Villa this season than Morgan Rogers (12), whose previous eight goals all came at Villa Park.

Looking Ahead

For Crystal Palace, the victory over Aston Villa marks a significant turning point in their season. With a top-half finish now within reach, the Eagles will be looking to build on this momentum as they face Millwall in the FA Cup and then take on Ipswich Town and Southampton in the Premier League.

For Aston Villa, the defeat highlights the need for improvement, particularly in away games. With crucial matches against Cardiff City in the FA Cup and Club Brugge in the Champions League on the horizon, Villa will need to regroup and refocus to avoid further setbacks.