Aston Villa missed the chance to move to the top of the Premier League as Sheffield United held them to a 1-1 draw on Friday night in a match marred with controversy.
Unai Emery’s side were unsurprisingly dominant throughout as they searched for the three points that would have extended their winning run at home to 16 matches.
In the opening 45 minutes, Sheffield United were camped in their half and didn’t register a single shot on goal, continuing their record of failing to score a goal away from home in the first half.
The Villans pushed for the breakthrough and thought they had it just before the hour mark when Emery’s side capitalised on some poor defending.
Ollie Watkins dispossessed George Baldock on the edge of his box and slid the ball across to Leon Bailey who fired home.
Villa’s celebrations, however, were cut short as VAR checked on a potential foul in the build-up with Jacob Ramsey adjudged to have fouled Wes Foderingham moments before.
The Villa midfielder appeared to have held the arm of the Blades keeper, despite Jayden Bogle grabbing his shirt.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher explain why Bailey’s goal was disallowed
When asked about whether referee Anthony Taylor correctly disallowed Bailey’s goal on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher responded:
“I think it was a little bit harsh on Villa, there’s no doubt that it is a foul, I just think we’ve reset now and I think it’s a mistake from Baldock coming out with the ball, he’s took a heavy touch.
“If you take it back, maybe Baldock doesn’t see the foul – for me that it is a foul [on Foderingham] not even a debate.”
Gary Neville also weighed in with his verdict and said: “I think for me if my goalkeeper had been clearly fouled and the ball goes into the back of the net in a short period, I would say as a defending team and a defending player – I would want that disallowed.”
Referee Anthony Taylor’s errors proved costly
Aston Villa supporters were frustrated that this goal didn’t stand and whilst it was ultimately the correct decision, Emery’s side were let down by other decisions that didn’t go their way.
In the first half, Ollie Watkins was bundled over inside the box by Vini Souza, but the referee gave no penalty.
Aside from getting away with losing the ball on the edge of his box, Baldock also got away with handling the ball in the penalty area as Villa were left aggrieved that they weren’t awarded a penalty.
The Villans were then punished for those decisions not going their way as Cameron Archer, who was sold to Sheffield United in the summer, netted from close-range to provide the sucker punch for his former club.
Although the hosts hit back in stoppage time through Nicolo Zaniolo to salvage a point, it should have been all three, had the referee not made multiple errors of judgement.
