LONDON: Aston Villa got back to winning ways and climbed into second place in the Premier League on Saturday, while Manchester City concluded a remarkable year with a victory and reminder they remain firmly in the hunt for a record fourth straight title.
Unai Emery's Villa are title dark horses but looked like dropping points against visiting 10-man Burnley before an 89th-minute penalty from Douglas Luiz earned them a 3-2 win.
Villa's 15-match home winning streak in the league was ended by lowly Sheffield United in a 1-1 draw last week and they then lost 3-2 at Manchester United on Boxing Day having led 2-0.
Saturday's victory moved Villa level on 42 points with Liverpool, who lead on goal difference and host Newcastle United on Monday. Manchester City, who also have a game in hand on Villa, are third on 40 after a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.
After 20 games last season, not long into Spaniard Emery's reign, Villa had 28 points -- underlining the resurgence the Midlands side have enjoyed in the past 12 months in which they have won a club record 32 games in all competitions.
Leon Bailey fired Villa in front against Burnley, who responded through Zeki Amdouni's volley two minutes later.
A simple finish from Moussa Diaby put the hosts back in front after 42 minutes before Burnley went down to 10 men when Sander Berge got a second yellow card for tugging Luiz's shirt.
Battling Burnley levelled late on through Lyle Foster but Luiz got the chance to win the game from the penalty spot when Jhon Duran was fouled by Aaron Ramsey, although his spot kick only just found the net after thudding the underside of the bar.
SPECTACULAR YEAR
If Villa's year has been impressive, Manchester City's has been truly spectacular as they won a Premier League-FA Cup-Champions League treble last season and last week were crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions for the first time.
They barely had to engage third gear on Saturday to end a run of three successive home league draws by comfortably beating bottom club Sheffield United.
Phil Foden set up Rodri to open the scoring with a precise finish in the 14th minute and the England midfielder was instrumental in City's second goal just past the hour as his pass was tapped home by Julian Alvarez.
After a wobble, City now appear to be back in the groove.
"So tight -- we're not top of the league, Liverpool are better," City manager Pep Guardiola said. "We've had injuries and some problems, we won the titles, important ones, our level is really good I would say and we are there.
"Now rest, we all need it. January is less intense than November and December so we prepare for what's next."
PALMER DOUBLE
Chelsea kicked off the day's fixtures with a 3-2 victory at Luton Town to end a run of four successive away defeats.
Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead in the 12th minute and was at the heart of the second goal in the 37th when he teed up Noni Madueke to score his second goal in two games.
Nicolas Jackson then sent Palmer clear to make it 3-0 in the 70th minute but Luton were not finished.
Ten minutes later former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley headed in from a corner and Elijah Adebayo reduced the deficit to one goal as Luton applied incessant pressure.
"For us, at 3-0 the game looks over but in the Premier League it is never over," Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino said. "We need more capacity to manage this type of situation."
Everton's dismal Christmas continued as they lost a third straight match, slumping 3-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers to stay one place above the drop zone on 16 points, one more than 18th-placed Luton. Burnley have 11 with Sheffield United on nine.
Crystal Palace eased their relegation worries as they ended an eight-game winless run with a 3-1 victory over Brentford thanks to a double from Michael Olise.
— Reuters
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