Veteran Aston Villa player Ashley Young watched from the substitutes’ bench as his team came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw with Burnley who are in a relegation battle.
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard rotated his team with an eye on the final day of the season this weekend, but Ashley Young was left out of the starting XI. The likes of Danny Ings and Philippe Coutinho dropped out of the starting XI from the home game with London team Crystal Palace with the likes of Emiliano Buendia and Carney Chukwuemeka replacing them in the Villa XI.
Gerrard made three changes in the second half as he sent on Ings, Coutinho and African star Bertrand Traore in a bid to try and win the game as Ashley Young was left on the bench for the entire game. In the end, the substitutions failed to yield the desired result for Liverpool legend Gerrard and his players. Hosts Villa conceded the first goal of the match from the penalty spot when Argentine international Buendia was adjudged to have brought down Ivorian star Maxwel Cornet inside the 18-yard box. Burnley striker Ashley Barnes made no mistake from the penalty spot to give his team the lead just before the end of the first half.
Villa scored the equaliser on 48 minutes through Buendia who made up for his error leading to the Burnley penalty. He found the back of the net with a volley off the cross from Scotland international midfielder Scott McGinn.
The draw with Burnley is a significant one for Aston Villa who are now unlikely to meet their target of finishing in the top ten as far as the Premier League log is concerned. Villa are in 14th spot and three points off Brighton and Hove Albion who are in tenth position.