Crystal Palace 4-1 Aston Villa: Sarr bags brace as hosts humble Emery's side

Birthday boy Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace made it back-to-back Premier League wins with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa.

Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah were also on target for the Eagles, who recorded only their third top-flight win at Selhurst Park this season.

Sarr marked the occasion of his 27th birthday by breaking the deadlock on Tuesday, turning into an empty net after Emiliano Martinez parried Chris Richards' initial header.

Morgan Rogers, who had a would-be equaliser disallowed in the first half, restored parity with an improvised finish in the 52nd minute, but Mateta's thunderous effort saw the hosts regain their lead seven minutes later.

Sarr's exquisite volley from a Daniel Munoz centre made matters more comfortable in the 71st minute before Nketiah's first league goal for Palace added further gloss to a brilliant win late on.

Oliver Glasner's team stay 12th, six points behind 10th-place Villa, who missed the chance to close the gap on the top four.

Data Debrief: Sarr joins exclusive club as Mateta continues fine form

Palace have now won six of their last seven Premier League home games against Villa, who have failed to win any of their last four games in the division in London; the club's longest streak since a five-match losing run between January and October 2022.

Scoring a brace, Sarr became just the third Palace player to find the net in the Premier League on his birthday, after Christian Benteke (against Bournemouth in 2016) and Luka Milivojevic (against Southampton in 2018).

Mateta restored the Eagles' lead with his eighth Premier League goal of 2025, the joint-most of any player in the competition alongside Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

It came courtesy of Eberechi Eze's lay-off, which marked his fifth assist for Mateta this season; the joint-most times a Palace player has set up a specific team-mate in a single Premier League campaign (Michael Olise five for Eze in 2022-23).