Bobbie Jackson, BBC Sport

It took a while - 98 minutes to be exact - but Aston Villa took the lead at home to Crystal Palace and they tightened their grip on that advantage even deeper into additional time.

Villa were dominant throughout the encounter, controlling the game deep in Palace territory but they struggled to create clear cut chances against a well-organised visiting team.

Scoring so early in the second half was arguably the worst thing that could have happened for Palace as they dropped deep and attempted to shut up shop.

Jhon Duran and Leon Bailey both scored from the bench and were key in getting all three points as Villa made picked up their ninth successive home win in the Premier League.

Unai Emery's side demonstrated that they have depth and the Spaniard will need to rely on that when he rotates as they try to balance domestic form with a European campaign.

After a heavy 3-0 defeat at Liverpool prior to the international break, Villa needed a result today and they got it in the most dramatic of circumstances.