Aston Villa could not take advantage of the teams above them dropping points this weekend, as they succumbed to a narrow defeat to Everton.

Aston Villa missed the chance to go second in the Premier League and close the gap to leaders Arsenal after suffering a 1-0 loss to Everton.

With both Manchester City and Arsenal dropping points this weekend, Villa could have moved within four points of the summit, but Thierno Barry`s 59th-minute strike denied them.

Eleven seconds after kick-off, Everton were on the attack, with Merlin Rohl`s low drive striking the foot of the left post before bouncing to a grateful Emiliano Martinez.

Jake O`Brien then saw a 33rd-minute header disallowed for an offside against Harrison Armstrong, who was deemed to have interfered with the play from an offside position.

Morgan Rogers forced a sprawling stop out of Jordan Pickford and Evann Guessand - on for the injured John McGinn - struck the crossbar with a looping header before the break, as Villa got themselves on top.

But when Pau Torres took a loose touch just outside his box, Dwight McNeil pounced. His curler was pushed away by Martinez, with Barry on hand to lift a lovely finish over the goalkeeper on the rebound.

Pickford made another stunning save to deny Rogers an equaliser as Villa upped the pressure, while Emiliano Buendia headed wide in the closing seconds.

But Villa, who saw their impressive 11-game winning streak at Villa Park in all competitions come to an end, remain third in the table, seven points behind the Gunners.

Data Debrief: Villa`s fortress breached

Villa suffered only a second defeat in their last 29 Premier League home games (W19 D8), with this loss ending an eight-game winning streak on home soil in the competition, and a run of 11 such wins in all competitions.

It was not for a lack of trying, though; Villa had 18 shots (their most in a Premier League game without scoring since October 2022 versus Chelsea - also 18), with five of those hitting the target as they generated 1.36 expected goals (xG).

This was the seventh Premier League match in which Unai Emery`s side have failed to score this season, as many times as they drew a blank in the whole of 2024-25.

But Everton enjoyed their first league win over Villa since March 2016, ending a 13-game winless run against them in the Premier League (D4 L9).

And it was Barry who had the all-important say. After scoring just once in his first 18 top-flight appearances for Everton this season, he has since scored three in his last four.