Hapless bottom club Aston Villa avoided relegation from the English Premier League by the skin of their teeth on Saturday, despite a 2-1 loss at home to AFC Bournemouth.
Goals from Steve Cook and Josh King gave Bournemouth victory at Villa Park, but Norwich City’s 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace kept Villa hanging by a mathematical thread.
“Not going down today is a small consolation,” Villa caretaker manager Eric Black admitted to the BBC.
Photo: AP
Meanwhile, fourth-placed Manchester City closed to within two points of Arsenal after Samir Nasri crowned his first start since September last year with the winner in a 2-1 success against West Bromwich Albion.
While Villa remain a top-flight club for the time being, demotion to the second tier for the first time since the 1987-1988 season is all but inevitable.
Villa are now 15 points below fourth-bottom Norwich with only 15 points left to play for.
Photo: Reuters
Cook put Bournemouth ahead with a clever back-heel in first-half stoppage-time and King added another in the 74th minute, before Jordan Ayew’s consolation goal late on.
“We’ve conceded poorish goals, but we have to remain professional until the end,” said Black, who stepped in last month after Villa parted company with manager Remi Garde. “Come Monday morning, we have to dust ourselves down and go again.”
By contrast, Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth, promoted from the Championship in May last year, are now 14 points clear of danger in 11th place and can look forward to another season in the top flight.
That Villa evaded the executioner’s axe was due to a glorious goal from Jason Puncheon, whose 68th-minute curler earned Palace a 1-0 win over Norwich that ended a dismal run of 14 league games without a victory.
Palace are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone, having played a game more than third-bottom Sunderland, who trailed Norwich by four points with two games in hand.
Second-bottom Newcastle United appear increasingly doomed after a wretched 3-1 defeat at Southampton left Rafael Benitez’s side six points from safety with six games to play.
Sloppy defending allowed Shane Long, Graziano Pelle and Victor Wanyama to put Southampton 3-0 up before the hour mark, with Andros Townsend replying — spectacularly, but in vain — in the 65th minute.
“It’s important that everybody continues to believe,” Benitez said. “The anxiety is killing us sometimes. If we can control these things, then things will change.”
Manchester City are snapping at Arsenal’s heels after coming from behind to beat West Brom.
Stephane Sessegnon rattled a shot inside Joe Hart’s near post in the sixth minute to put the visitors ahead, but Sergio Aguero equalized with a 19th-minute penalty after Sessegnon clipped Aleksandar Kolarov.
Back in the team following five months out with a hamstring problem, Nasri settled matters in the 66th minute when he tucked home after Aguero had seen a shot blocked, but in a big concern ahead of tomorrow’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, which is poised at 2-2, Aguero hobbled off late on after being caught on the heel by Craig Gardner.
Also on Saturday, Swansea City effectively secured their safety by beating Chelsea 1-0 courtesy of a first-half volley from Gylfi Sigurdsson, ending interim Blues manager Guus Hiddink’s 15-game unbeaten run.
In the day’s remaining fixture, Everton’s James McCarthy and Watford’s Jose Holebas both struck in first-half stoppage-time in a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road.
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