Ismaila Sarr celebrated his 27th birthday with a brace as Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa 4-1 in a midweek Premier League fixture at Selhurst Park. The Senegalese striker netted on either side of the interval for the Eagles, who won by a three goal margin despite having just 35% possession.
Midfielder Adam Wharton, making his first league start since returning from injury, was influential for Palace. It was his cross that was headed by Chris Richards and parried by Emi Martinez into the path od Sarr for the hosts’ opening goal on the evening.
Aston Villa, who had goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers disallowed due to VAR, finally got back on level terms in the 52nd minute, only for Jean-Phillipe Mateta to restore Palace’s advantage just before the hour mark.
An acrobatic finish from Sarr from Munoz’s cross made it 3-1 to Palace in the 71st minute and substitute Eddie Nketiah wrapped up victory with a simple finish. The result was a disappointing one for Villa, who had taken points off both Liverpool and Chelsea coming into this game.
Both sides will now be involved in the FA Cup, with Palace up against Millwall and Villa squaring off against Cardiff.
