Aston Villa

Sam Kerr struck in stoppage time to keep alive Chelsea's Women's Super League title hopes as they snatched a 1-0 win on Sunday over a dogged Aston Villa side, but Arsenal remain top after a 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Kerr latched on to a long ball from keeper Zećira Mušović and fired home in the second minute of added time before wheeling away and taking off her shirt in celebration as second-placed Chelsea kept up the pressure on Arsenal.

LONDON - Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko and Spanish midfielder Pablo Fornals scored a goal each as West Ham defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at home on Sunday, ending Steven Gerrard's side's run of three consecutive wins in the Premier League.

Yarmolenko had been granted compassionate leave after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month and then fell ill, missing West Ham's 1-0 Europa League loss in Seville on Thursday.

LIVERPOOL — Everton's first match of the post-Rafa Benitez era began with a 1-0 Premier League defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday amid a tense and feisty atmosphere at Goodison Park where the visiting team were hit by missiles thrown from the crowd.

A lively first half ended with Emiliano Buendia scoring with a flicked header that arced over Jordan Pickford in goal and the provocative celebrations led to a bottle being launched from the stands and hitting the Villa players.

BIRMINGHAM — Aston Villa debutant Philippe Coutinho came off the bench to inspire a thrilling comeback in a gripping 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.

United appeared to be on course for a second win of the week against Steven Gerrard's side as Bruno Fernandes struck in each half - the first goal courtesy of a dreadful error by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Here's the goal that gave Manchester United their 1-0 lead over Aston Villa.

Aston Villa have signed Brazilian international Philippe Coutinho on a loan deal until the end of the season from Barcelona, the Premier League club said on Friday.

He will be reunited with former captain Steven Gerrard, with the pair playing together at Anfield from 2013-15 and Gerrard now managing Villa.

Welcome, Philippe Coutinho!

Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to lead Chelsea to a much-needed 3-1 victory at Aston Villa with midfielder Jorginho scoring two penalties in the Premier League on Sunday.

Lukaku has not started a league game since picking up an injury in October and missed the last two games after testing positive for COVID-19. But the Belgian transformed his team's display after coming on at halftime at Villa Park, providing a constant threat, putting his side ahead and then earning the late penalty that secured the three points for Thomas Tuchel's side.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said it was a matter of time before former player Steven Gerrard would take charge of the Merseyside club, ahead of his return to Anfield as Aston Villa's head coach.

Liverpool great Gerrard, who replaced Dean Smith at Villa last month, won numerous trophies in 17 years at Anfield and will take on his boyhood club for the first time as a manager on Saturday.

LONDON - Steven Gerrard withstood a period of intense pressure to turn fallen giants Rangers into Scottish champions again and now Aston Villa provides one of the Premier League's all-time great players with a platform to truly prove himself as a manager.

Gerrard, who spent 17 years patrolling Liverpool's midfield and scored 120 Premier League goals in 504 appearances, has been named Villa boss after the Birmingham club sacked Dean Smith on Sunday.

It's not uncommon for England-born footballers to represent other countries. The Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Jamaica are just a few of the national sides with a decent proportion of English natives in their squads.

But a player from the outskirts of London suiting up for Poland? Now that's a new one. Yet that's exactly what happened to Matty Cash, who earned his first Poland call-up this week. Is Matty Cash Polish?