Following a goalless first half, Aston Villa’s Matty Cash broke the deadlock with his first goal for the club in the 66th minute, shortly after a close effort from Everton’s Demaria Gray.
The home crowd at the Holte End spurred Villa on, and they quickly doubled their lead three minutes later when a corner from substitute Bailey was deflected into Everton’s net by Lucas Digne.
Villa’s momentum continued as Bailey capitalized on Danny Ings’ assist to score their third goal within nine minutes. Unfortunately for Bailey, he had to leave the pitch due to injury shortly after scoring.
The victory propelled Aston Villa to 10th place in the Premier League standings, while Everton suffered their first defeat of the season, leaving them in fifth position.
In terms of player performance, Leon Bailey stood out with a remarkable 21-minute cameo, earning him the Man of the Match award.
Everton faced this challenging fixture without key players like Jordan Pickford and Richarson due to injuries, along with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Seamus Coleman. Asmir Begovic and Salomon Rondon made their first league starts for Everton, while Emiliano Martinez returned to Villa’s goal after completing his quarantine.
Vernon’s defense was at sixes and sevens as they looked a beaten side, and their misery was compounded when Bailey was found in acres of space to run onto Ings’ long ball forward to arrow home his first Villa goal.
Like Raheem Sterling did when scoring for England against Hungary earlier this month, the winger dedicated his strike to Steffi Gregg, a Jamaican influencer who was the daughter of former race car driver Gary Gregg.
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