Aston Villa 1 AFC Bournemouth 1 - Report
Evanilson's stoppage-time header prevented Aston Villa from taking all three points against a stubborn Bournemouth side as they were held to a 1-1 draw.
Unai Emery's side had a host of chances throughout the 90 minutes that should have led to a comfortable victory.
But they led by a narrow margin heading into stoppage time thanks to Ross Barkley's 76th-minute goal.
And the Cherries stopped Villa going three points clear of Arsenal when Evanilson's near-post header earned Andoni Iraola's side a point at Villa Park. with the last kick of the game.
Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers both had opportunities to give Emery's side the lead as they started brightly on a mild afternoon.
Watkins could not get enough on his attempted lob over Mark Travers and Rogers' effort went over from just inside the penalty area.
Villa thought they had the game's opening goal just before the half-hour mark - John McGinn curled home from inside the area.
It came after Watkins had kept alive Jacob Ramsey's cross - but as VAR subsequently checked it revealed the ball had gone out of play.
Amadou Onana and Ezri Konsa also forced Travers into smart saves.
Villa's early dominance was proven by Andoni Iraola's decision to make a substitution as Adam Smith came on during the VAR check.
Bournemouth grew into the game more after that with Justin Kluivert testing the palms of Emi Martinez from distance.
Onana picked up a yellow card in the first period and was replaced by Ross Barkley at half-time.
The Bournemouth goalkeeper Travers was making just his second Premier League start of the season, and he was in inspired form as he denied Pau Torres from distance and Watkins from a corner.
It felt like it was going to be one of those days for Villa when Jhon Duran shot wide but they finally broke the deadlock 14 minutes from time.
Three substitutes Ian Maatsen, Leon Bailey and Barkley combined as the former Everton man bundled it over the line.
Villa survived two VAR checks late on for possible penalties but just as it looked like they would cling on for the victory.
Bournemouth snatched an unlikely equaliser with the last kick of the game as Evanilson headed in Marcus Tarvernier's free-kick.
Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne (Maatsen 70), McGinn (Bailey 70), Onana (Barkley 45), Tielemans, Ramsey, Rogers (Duran 55), Watkins (Kamara 81).
Subs: Olsen, Mings, Carlos, Maatsen, Barkley, Buendia, Kamara, Bailey, Duran.
Bournemouth: Travers, Kerkez (Brooks 81), Cook, Senesi, Christie, Ouattara, Kluivert (Tavernier 63), Araujo (Smith 30), Semenyo (Adams 81), Unal (Evanilson 63), Zabarnyi.
Subs: Dennis, Huijsen, Brooks, Evanilson, Adams, Smith, Tavernier, Hill, Aarons.
