Aston Villa 4 – 3 Sunderland

Aston Villa were forced to beat Sunderland twice as Tammy Abraham’s 94th-minute strike sealed a 4-3 win in a Premier League classic, moments after a stunning collapse wiped out their two-goal lead in just 58 seconds.

The Villans looked on course for a routine home win for all but signaled their Champions League qualification for next season, leading 3-1 thanks to two Ollie Watkins goals and a Morgan Rogers third with four minutes to play.

But once Trai Hume grabbed a powerful consolation after robbing substitute Jadon Sancho, the Man Utd loanee was caught back in possession seconds after the restart with Enzo Le Fee tapping past Wilson Isidor to level and stun Villa Park.

There were probably always going to be twists and turns between two teams who have won more points than anyone else in the Premier League by losing positions – although it was still a while.

Things could have become even more unimaginable if Habib Diarra completed the turnaround when he raced through on goal, but his lines fluffed with Emiliano Martinez getting a hand on his effort. “I’m not sure it was the best decision, but it is what it is,” was his manager Regis Le Bris’s diplomatic decision.

However, there was one final twist in the tail of one of the most thrilling finishes in Premier League history as Abraham’s deft touch on a stunning deep cross from Lucas Digne beat Robin Roefs to restore Villa’s lead in the 94th minute, with even head coach Unai Emery running onto the pitch to celebrate.

“We played a fantastic game but the two goals in one minute, we lost our minds a bit,” said Emery air sports after the game. “But how we responded with 3-3 and scored the fourth goal was fantastic.

“Now we’re going to rest, I’ll do my recovery tomorrow!”

It will take an even more all-out collapse than Villa Park witnessed on Sunday for the club to miss out on the Champions League now with a 10-point cushion over sixth-placed Chelsea, while Sunderland’s own European hopes have been dealt a painful but far from fatal blow – despite sitting 11th, they remain just two points behind the Blues.

McGinn ‘buzzing’ but frustrated by Villa game management

Aston Villa’s captain John McGinn on Sky Sports:

“We were in control and had chances to go four or five up. Sunderland are a good team; they put you on the back foot. We have to manage the game better, we were in control.

“For it to go to 3-3, it’s definitely something we’re not happy with. You can easily lose a fourth. It’s a great save by Emi (Martinez) and Tammy (Abraham) came in difficult circumstances and got a great finish.

“We’re buzzing. We’ll be frustrated in there, we know we won the game but we have high standards of ourselves as a group. It’s in our hands (top five and Europa League), we can go and achieve things that Villa players haven’t done for a long time.

“When you see the difference in two points that Tammy added for us, that’s huge for us. It wasn’t perfect, but who cares at the end of the day.”

Emery ‘so happy’ with Villa’s overall performance

Aston Villa’s head coach Unai Emery on Sky Sports:

“The Premier League is very difficult to beat Sunderland – they had and still have the opportunity to be in the race for Europe.

“I’m so, so happy with how we played. We’re only going to analyze deeply in a few minutes why we lost our minds.

“The first half, we started so intense and dominated. The second half, I thought was better. Scored the third and had chances to score the fourth. Overall, a lot of things very positive.”

Le Bris disappointed after silencing Villa Park

Sunderland’s head coach Regis Le Bris on air sports:

“I’m a bit disappointed as we had the opportunity to win the game, with the one-on-one with Diarra and then we conceded the goal.

“Today we felt the power and strength of Aston Villa, they created many chances.

“We didn’t start well, first and second half. When you concede after half-time, it’s always difficult. With 3-1, with one goal, you can change the dynamics.

“We are learning. Step by step it is not a good result at the end.”

Story of the match in statistics

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