Crystal Palace emerged 3-0 winners on their latest trip to Villa Park as their clinical edge compared to their opponents secured an important three points for the Eagles ahead of the international break. Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Marc Guehi and Ismaila Sarr added to the scoresheet - Villa were left unable to respond.
For Aston Villa, the international break comes at the perfect time as his side put in another disjointed performance, failing to score for the third successive match in the Premier League.
It was certainly a performance to strike confidence and encouragement within one fanbase, whilst the other would be leaving Villa Park feeling anything but that.
Story of the Match
Unai Emery certainly named a more attacking lineup than the one that started in the loss to Brentford in game week two. Youri Tielemans and John McGinn were selected to play the deeper midfield roles, whilst Donyell Malen and Evann Guessand came into the side to bolster the attack after a dull performance last week.
The most notable change for the Villains, however, was that Marco Bizot came into the team for Emiliano Martinez, who was absent in this match amid rumours of his departure from the Midlands-based club.
Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner made two changes from Palace's midweek European venture as Borna Sosa and Jefferson Lerma made way for Tyrick Mitchell and Will Hughes, respectively. Apart from that, it was all the same for Palace, who would have been hoping for a higher quality attacking display.
It was a slow start from both teams, as neither set of fans had anything to really shout about in the early stages of this encounter.
This all changed twenty minutes in as Daichi Kamada burst into the box, looking to take the ball around Bizot. Rushing off his line to try and prevent the chance, the Dutchman brought down Kamada, getting none of the ball in the process and consequently conceding a penalty.
It was a no-brainer for referee Stuart Atwell, who in a weekend of some controversial decisions, had a relatively easy one to make. Jean-Philippe Mateta dispatched the spot-kick with ease to seal a disastrous start to the game for Bizot. Aston Villa, yet to score a goal in the Premier League up to this point, now had the task of fighting back.
Aston Villa had their best chance of the first half five minutes before the interval as John McGinn launched a long ball from Villa's half. Watkins brought it down and, despite a small nudge in the back from the chasing Daniel Munoz, managed to pull the trigger. The attempt forced an instinctive save from Dean Henderson, keeping the scoreline in favour of the visitors.
The hosts looked hesitant to move forward as the crowd began to make their frustrations known. The first half was a painful watch for any Villa fan and was summed up perfectly in the dying embers as the full-backs continued opting to pass the ball back when given the opportunity to break forward.
Yet again, a flat half from Aston Villa, who simply lacked any urgency. Unai Emery looked like a frustrated man as he headed for the tunnel. A much better half was needed for Aston Villa.
Crystal Palace did not exactly light up the first half offensively themselves, but they converted a penalty game them something to defend, and they did this very effectively. Marc Guehi, despite his future at Palace being an uncertainty, looked as good as ever in a backline that had not been stretched at all in the first half. More of the same would be their wish for the second half.
As expected, Villa did come out of the blocks fast in the second half as they tried to claw their way back into the match. Youri Tielemans tested Dean Henderson from range before Morgan Rogers came the closest to scoring for Villa. The 23-year-old attempted to squeeze the ball into the bottom left corner, but Henderson was there once more to maintain his clean sheet.
This brief period of Villa resistance would be brought to a sudden end courtesy of a wonder-strike from Marc Guehi. If this was to be his final outing for the club, Palace's captain gave the fans quite the parting gift, striking from the edge of the box into the top right corner. It was a sucker-punch for Villa, who did not look out of the encounter prior to this goal but had a serious mountain to climb now.
It would only get worse for Unai Emery's men from here. Maxence Lacroix got on the end of a long throw into Villa's box. The Frenchman flicked the ball to the far post, where an unmarked Ismaila Sarr was patiently waiting to head the ball in, piling the misery on the hosts. It was a goal that began to clear out the home end as many Villa fans, having seen enough, headed for the exit.
The board going up, signalling seven minutes of additional time, would not have helped the mood of the fans that stayed for the final stages of the match, as fears of a fourth were sparked when Yéremi Pino broke forward, this time not leading to anything.
Oliver Glasner's game plan had worked to perfection for Crystal Palace tonight. The visitors were superb all over the pitch from start to finish - a great response to the dull performance in Norway midweek.
On the other hand, it was a catastrophic night for Unai Emery and Aston Villa, whose attack once again looked devoid of ideas. The Villains did have chances, but many were from unfavourable positions. The few that weren't were simply not capitalised on, creating more concerns for fans.
Player of the match: Marc Guehi
When a team like Liverpool are knocking for a signature, many would have expected Marc Guehi to be more focused on a potential move to Merseyside - that could not have been further from the case.
The Englishman put in his usual commanding display in Crystal Palace's backline and even got his name on the scoresheet in what could possibly be his final appearance for the Eagles.
The 25-year-old won 83% of all his duels alongside 100% of his tackles. Additionally, he contributed to playing his team out of his half with a long ball accuracy of 60% and a passing accuracy of 89%.
If that was truly his final match, then what a performance it was from Guehi, who is yet another player that will be remembered fondly by fans of the London outfit.