Aston Villa 1-1 Bournemouth: Evanilson heads in a 96th-minute equaliser after Ross Barkley nets his first goal since returning to Villa Park as THIRTEEN yellow cards are shown by the referee

Jhon Duran is the proud and rightful purveyor of the title of Premier League super sub. But for this afternoon at least, he will have to hand that title to Bournemouth’s Evanilson.

The visitors had barely threatened Emiliano Martinez’s goal all afternoon. But on the very last kick of the match, Evanilson found some space in the Aston Villa box and his glancing header from a free kick left the Argentine goalkeeper without a chance. It is somewhat ironic that it was Duran who lost the Brazilian in the build-up to the goal.

There was a nerve-wracking moment early on when Watkins’ moment of indecision almost gave him the opportunity to trap Jacob Ramsey. Chalk that up to blowing away the cobwebs.

Minutes later the same pair combined at the end of a slick one-touch move but Rogers shot over.

Villa continued to pile on the pressure. Only a full-force save from Travers denied Amadou Onana a well-executed free kick. Watkins, waiting to see what the goalkeeper had left behind, could hardly believe what he had seen.

Evanilson (left) headed his side level in the 96th minute to earn a 1-1 draw at Villa Park

Midfielder Ross Barkley previously scored his first Aston Villa goal since January 2021

Barkley (No. 6) found the net with an unconventional volley finish in the six-yard box

The visitors almost paid for not playing until the whistle after retiring when it looked like the ball was out of play. It looked like Watkins had made it before finding McGinn who finished quite brilliantly.

However, VAR Matthew Donohue ruled that the ball was out of play. If so, it was within the narrowest of margins. ‘It’s tight, very tight, you wouldn’t want to be in Stockley Park right now!’ said former referee Mike Dean on Sky Sports.

Martinez had been largely a bystander but launched himself to the right to deflect the missile fired by Justin Kluivert’s right foot on 32 minutes.

This was followed by an even better save from Travers, who denied Ezri Konsa’s striking shot.

Villa started the second half where they left off: on the front foot. Barkley shuffled his lines as a corner unexpectedly landed at his feet from a corner. Duran did that too, much to the surprise of Villa Park.

John McGinn (front right) put a shot into the net in the first half, but his goal was disallowed

McGinn’s goal was disallowed after a VAR review found the ball had gone out of play

Referee Chris Kavanagh imagined signaling that his decision to award McGinn’s goal had changed

But when Watkins’ dummy allowed Ian Maatsen to cross to Leon Bailey, who headed towards Barkley, there was no reprieve for Bournemouth this time.

Emery’s celebration was wild as he jumped up and down and fired the first pumps at those sitting behind the dugouts. Travers’ resistance was finally broken.

There was a nerve-wracking moment for Villa when Antoine Semenyo went down in the penalty area under a challenge from Matty Cash. However, referee Chris Kavanagh thought it was fair and booked the Bournemouth attacker for simulation.

But then came Evanilson, whose brilliant header sparked pandemonium in the away match.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery pictured with his hand on his chin during Saturday’s match

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola photographed how he managed his players during the match at Villa Park

Villa’s Matty Cash (right) and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo fight for the ball