Sky Sports Premier League Podcast
Everton snatch all full three points to deal a setback to Villa’s title ambition
18 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What happened in the Everton vs Aston Villa match?
Welcome to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. Super Sunday came from Villa Park this week where Aston Villa were taking on Everton. This is how we saw things at full time.
A non-winning weekend for the Premier League's top three as Everton end Aston Villa's run of 11 straight wins here. Thierno Barry the hero for the visitors but for Unai Emery disappointment that they fail to make up any ground after the slips of Manchester City who lost and Arsenal who had that draw at Nottingham Forest.
It was a stumble from a player with whom he's got a long association, Clare Torres and a failure to keep from Thierno Barry the McNeil shot by Emi Martinez that led to the winning goal Villa didn't provide too much of a threat but when they did through Morgan Rodgers then Jordan Pickford was at his best to keep it out
So Everton go into the top half of the table and it was like old times here at Villa Park with Barry and Grealish on the pitch but Tierno Barry was the player who scored against them and for Jack Grealish it is a triumphant return to his old stamping ground. Aston Villa nil, Everton one.
And we heard from James Tarkovsky at half-time, didn't we, Ashley, about what Everton's game plan was and was going to continue to be in that second half, and they executed it perfectly. That's exactly what they'd done. Tarky said at half-time they've got to stay in their shape and try and keep Aston Villa down to having no shots and frustrating them.
They managed to do that, and when the chance came, it was a fantastic finish from Tino Barry. You know, to be honest, I think Emi Martinez, goalkeeper, has got to have a look at himself and do better on the shot from Adon McNeill. But, you know, Everton played this game out fantastically well and, you know, they got the three points.
And every stage of the afternoon, really, you could look at where it was disappointing for Villa, whether that be performance, whether it be individual errors, as Ashley said, whether it be what looks like a horrible injury to John McGinn or a knee injury to John McGinn. Every way you turn, there's disappointment for Villa this afternoon. Absolutely, Mark. They couldn't have started any worse.
Obviously, Everton hit the post in the first few minutes. You thought, well, that might wake them up, get them going. Then you lose John McGinn, and they have blown an incredible opportunity to put some real pressure on Arsenal. They didn't have the capabilities in any area today. The performances, normally the individuals that can bail them out weren't at their best.
It was a really, really tough afternoon for Aston Villa. They just never got it going at all. Maybe that's a little bit of pressure. Maybe they didn't have, obviously, some players. Marlon leaving midweek felt a really strange decision when you're looking at that subs bench to come on and change the game.
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Chapter 2: How did Everton's victory impact Aston Villa's title ambitions?
They didn't have those options today. So, yeah, a really tough one, but I will also credit that man there, David Moyes. He knows what he's doing, that guy. He does. He knows how to set a team up to be difficult to beat, and that's their best result of the season. Magnificent from his team. Garner in midfield, Armstrong I thought were exceptional.
Grealish kept good width and always gives you quality on the ball, but an unbelievable result for them. But for Aston Villa, that'll feel so tough to take. They're chanting David Moyes' name, the Everton fans down below, as it was Tiano Barry before that. We will hear from all the relevant people involved before we go off air at half past seven.
Let's show you the Premier League table with still one game to play, and that's Brighton and Bournemouth on Monday Night Football. But you look at the table, Everton no longer in the bottom half, but in the Premier League this weekend, none of the bottom five have lost. They've either picked up a point or won. And none of the top four have won. And what a good... Everton, hey, football.
Everton into the top half. And what a good weekend it has been for Arsenal. With the draw at Nottingham Forest. They have extended their lead over Aston Villa and Manchester City to seven points. City, of course, losing the Manchester derby, which yesterday was watched by six passionate fans in the box.
There's no way that's a goal.
What's the ref called? Taylor.
He does it, if you notice, when he blows, he goes like that, he crouches when he blows, he's blown there.
We've gone for a look. I reckon it's a round.
So you think about it, why would they show a Bruno Fernandes knee slide? They're telling us he scored, so it's the double bluff, mate, it's been ruled out.
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Chapter 3: Who was the standout player for Everton in this match?
Which you won't be watching, will you? Because you told us earlier Game of Thrones gives you nightmares. Don't give it to me. Give me my secrets. I don't like things like that. I get nightmares. It's not good for me. Yeah, it's a great show. Give it a watch. Thanks for that very insincere trail. Right, here Everton have beaten Aston Villa by a goal to nil.
Tiano Barry with the very, very good finish to get all three points for David Moyes. Men, we'll see you after the break.
Hi everyone, Tom White here. Welcome to Sky Sports FC, the place to have your say on the biggest football stories. Join me and the very best Premier League pundits Monday to Friday, 10 till 12 on Sky Sports News or listen on our brand new podcast, which drops as soon as we come off air. On the pod, you can expect hot takes, fierce debate and some more of your messages.
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That's broken off Torres. McNeil! And it's come back to Barry! Who's got it in? Tiana Barry, so sharp on the follow-up to make sure... And it's Everton who go ahead.
Great finish by Thierno Barri and enough to give Everton all three points, three and four for him. No wonder he is happy. And he is alongside James Garner with Pete Moolenstein.
Well, congratulations. That must feel like a huge victory, especially to do it here at Villa Park. What was that like to play in today?
Yeah, it was amazing. We worked so hard throughout the week. They're such a very good team, a lot of brilliant players, but the lads grinded it out today and we got the chance and he took it.
How important was it to make sure that you frustrated Aston Villa? Because we spoke to your captain before at half-time as well, and you had to make sure that intensity was going all the way through the game.
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Chapter 4: How did Everton execute their game plan effectively?
We waited for our moment, won it back, and like I said, when you come away to places like this, you might only get one or two chances, and that's what we did, and the main man put it away again.
Well, just before the hour mark, you managed to get that goal, that all-important goal. Just talk us through it when you saw that opportunity arise.
I just saw Martinez kick the ball away and be attentive. I don't know if it's in English. And I scored, so I'm very happy. Yes, I hope to continue like this.
I think that's our three goals in your last four games. So for you personally as well, how are you feeling at the moment?
It's my job, no? I need to score, so I need to continue like this. I need to work hard because it's not the final, so I hope to continue like this.
What can a win like this do for this Everton side now?
We were in a bit of a sticky patch and that was one of the main things that we said going into this game. We need to get ourselves out of this and to win away from home was hopefully the start of that.
Do you actually feel that you could have got more from this game today?
I don't know what more you can get apart from three points. So, yeah, no, I think it was an amazing performance from the lads. We set out exactly what we wanted to do, which was come here, make it hard for them and take away the three points.
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Chapter 5: What were Aston Villa's key mistakes during the game?
And you keep playing and all of a sudden he's got three in his last four. He's in good form and a winning goal. He might not have got man of the match like he wanted. He said, like Roy Keane, that's my job. I loved it. It was great. And it is his job. You know what? He's scoring goals. And he took it so well as well, didn't he, Ashley? Yeah, he did. You know, he's a striker.
He's got to get on the end of it. Like he just said then, you know, It's my job. And it was his job. It's a tough finish, to be honest. He sees it come out from the goalkeeper. Like I said, it's a mistake here from Pau Torres, but Dwight McNeill picking up the ball there, you're hoping that someone's going to bow you out, and the keeper just gets it all wrong for me. He's got to hold on to that.
He doesn't hold on to it, but Tienabar is in the right position, following it in, and it's an unbelievable finish. To get that over a man of Martinez's size and stature and get it under the bar as well takes some doing. It's beautiful. Look at it. He's just got that little bit of backspin, the right flight on it. Conte's obviously trying his best to get there. He reacts really well as well.
I like the way that he just nips in front of Matty Cash here. He sees it, anticipates, and then can he do that? It's a difficult angle. He just dinks it over the keeper. Look at that. What a feeling. He'll watch that a lot this week. It's a really good finish because he has to slow himself up, get his foot pattern right.
And obviously just over the line, a really good piece of play from his perspective. But I think what it showed you was in that goal encapsulated everything about Aston Villa today, the mistakes that they made. And it's like, are they just mistakes? Is it unfortunate or is it actually pressure? Because for the first time, the weekend, everything's gone their way.
Manchester City lose, Arsenal only draw. Now, can you handle that pressure? And it just felt like they didn't do it as well today. And I didn't expect it. I came here today thinking that Aston Villa will completely blow Everton away. No N'Diaye, no Dewsbury Hall. That player's playing in different positions. You bring a young lad in, Harrison. I'm sure I thought it was brilliant today in there.
And... It was a great result from Everton's perspective, but Aston Villa just didn't handle the occasion very well today. But did Everton equally? We heard from James Garner there, didn't we, saying, well, the idea was to block off the passing lanes and force them out wide.
So for all you can flip it on Villa and their pressure, you also have to give credit for Everton not allowing them to play how they wanted to play, do you? Yeah, of course you do. And I think that Everton would have worked on that during the week. You know, everyone knows Unai Emery's teams.
They want to play through the middle, play through, you know, the centre midfielders and, you know, through Morgan Rodgers. And when you block them and send them wide, you know, that's a win. That's a bonus for you and everyone on the team. So, of course, that's what they've been working on. You know, Taki said it at half-time.
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Chapter 6: What did the managers say after the match?
Works across his feet. We've seen him do this many, many times before, Jordan Pickford. Look, he sees it late, gets himself up, a really good save. He might say it was a comfortable one for him, but big moment in the match, that 72 minutes on the game, that goes in, everything changes, the whole complexion of it. The crowd get up, but he never quite got that momentum today. They didn't.
We'll look at what went wrong for Villa when we come back. We will also hear from both managers on a disappointing afternoon for Unai Emery, but a perfectly executed one for David Moyes. Get closer to the action in 2026 with Sky Sports. Existing customers can upgrade to get access to hundreds of Premier League games plus EFL, WSL and Scottish Premiership action too.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of this match for both teams moving forward?
Everton have continued to show that they are a team to be feared when they are away from home. Three points for David Moyes' side here at Villapark. And he is with Pete.
David, just how good of a win, how good of a performance was that today?
It was magnificent. You know the boys who come into the team and have been. It's been a pretty difficult week for us really and we've had to get over that. But they turned it around today. They put in a great performance right from the start. We looked as if we were going to try and give them a game and we did for most of the game.
What was it that you particularly enjoyed about that performance today?
I think the levels, we've got Aston Villa who are 11 or 12 unbeaten at the moment and we're coming into it not in our best run, certainly not in our best squad of players and all the players available. So I've got to say we put a lot of work into it through the week to try and find a way of how we could try and combat Aston Villa. We certainly didn't just turn up and make it happen.
We've been at it all week trying to find a way because we saw how well they played against Tottenham Hotspur last week and we knew if we didn't do something we were going to find ourselves in trouble because coming here is never easy. We started brilliantly well and the boys got a bit of confidence from it, took the ball when we could do and made a chance right away.
I thought it was going to bounce in off the inside of the post, but it didn't. We had our moments, they had their moments, so overall really pleased with the overall performance.
Let's go through the goal then, Tieno Barry getting on the score sheet.
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Chapter 8: How does this result affect the Premier League standings?
You said before the game as well you wanted to see him getting some more goals and he absolutely delivered today.
He did and look we want to make more chances and we didn't have loads of chances but we've not really been like that and obviously the clean sheet is the reason if you nick a goal then you can win the game so we've been able to do that but look we won it back they had a bit of a mistake I would say and Dwight gets a shot on target and the centre forward's falling up which you're supposed to do and I thought his finish was really good
Do you actually feel that you deserve more goals in that game, especially after the first half, the goal that was disallowed from Jacob Bryan? How did you see it? Did you feel like it should have been disallowed or not?
Well, I could give you a full list of where we think we've not been getting good decisions going for us. So I wasn't surprised when it was ruled out. But I think the one thing normally about offside is they can sort of do that right because they've got the lines and you sort of believe that most of them are correct.
But, you know, they're saying that he was interfering with play, so we have to accept that.
We saw you just at the end of the game speaking to Thomas Tuchel. A couple of conversations about some of your players there?
There's one or two of them should be getting close. So let's hope maybe in the future they will do. But I think the likes of Jimmy Gardner and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall have been doing brilliant for us this year. So long may that continue.
You mentioned that you are, of course, missing important players still. But what does this say about your team, your squad, to be able to get a performance and a win like this against this Aston Villa team?
I think it says a lot. I've been in it long enough. I don't need to hide it. I think for us to get a result here against probably one of the top teams if not, and certainly in the top two or three at the moment, to come here and get a result with what we've got available or what we've got missing more to the point, I think some credit to the players. But it's in the DNA at Everton.
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