Crystal Palace lost their fifth game in a row with a 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Palace’s day was summed up by Christian Benteke’s red card following an altercation seconds after the final whistle.
The Eagles could find themselves unlucky not to have scored the first goal after Mamadou Sakho diverted a Luka Milivojevic free-kick into the net off his shoulder. But after a lengthy delay, it was ruled out by VAR for handball.
Villa went ahead just before the break when winger Trezeguet slotted home at the far post after Palace had failed to head out a free-kick.
Not long into the second period, Villa were handed a penalty by referee Martin Atkinson after Patrick van Aanholt caught Jack Grealish’s foot, but the decision was overruled by VAR.
Trezeguet made the points safe for relegation-battling Villa in the 59th minute with a second goal after more slack Palace defending.
Benteke’s frustrations boiled over at full-time and it left referee Atkinson no option but to send him off.
Palace: Guaita, Van Aanholt, Sakho, Dann, Ward, McArthur (McCarthy 45), Milivojevic (Meyer 74), Kouyate (Riedewald), Zaha, Ayew (Townsend 65), Benteke.
Not used: Hennessey, Kelly, Woods, Mitchell, Pierrick.
Villa: Reina, Konsa, Mings, Taylor (Targett 37), Hourihane (Nakamba 80), Luiz, McGinn, Trezeguet (El Ghazi 88), Grealish, Samatta (Davis 80).
Not used: Lansbury, Jota, Guilbert, Nyland, Steer.
