Everton's Thierno Barry puts dent in Aston Villa's title hopes

Barry scores second-half winner as Everton end Villa’s 11-game home winning streak

Premier League - Aston Villa v Everton - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - Jan 18, 2026 Everton's Thierno Barry scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

Thierno Barry scored a second-half winner as Everton ended title-chasing Aston Villa’s 11-game home winning run with a 1-0 Premier League victory at a wet Villa Park on Sunday, a result that will be celebrated in North London.

Villa stay in third place in the table on 43 points from 22 games, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, who now have a sizeable lead in the title race. Everton climb to 10th place on 32 points.

The visitors took the lead on 59 minutes when Pau Torres’ poor touch was collected by Dwight McNeil and when the latter's shot was parried by Emi Martinez in the home goal, Barry followed up to chip the ball into the net.

Both teams struck the woodwork, Everton after 11 seconds in the game. The visitors also had a goal ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee.