Crystal Palace confirmed its role as Aston Villa's nemesis this season by first eliminating them from the League Cup and now snatching a 2-2 draw in Birmingham on Saturday, hindering Unai Emery's side from regaining their scoring momentum.

Emery's team, which has not won any of their last six matches, also started poorly against Palace. Within six minutes, Mateta found Ismaila Sarr in depth, who sped past Ian Maatse and chipped the ball over 'Dibu' Martínez to score.

It took Villa half an hour to respond with a goal strikingly similar to Palace's. Pau Torres split two defensive lines with a pass to John McGinn, who then assisted Ollie Watkins inside the box.

The English striker dribbled past Dean Henderson and scored into an empty net, setting the stage for a potential comeback. However, eight minutes later, after a shot by Leon Bailey hit the post, the referee awarded a penalty to Villa. Tielemans, known for his mixed fortune from the spot, saw his penalty saved by an outstanding Henderson, preventing what would have been a 2-1 lead.

Instead, Palace launched a counterattack led by Sarr who raced from his own half to the box and laid off a horizontal pass. Mateta missed it, but young Justin Devenny coolly placed the ball past 'Dibu' to score the second goal for Palace.

In the second half, it wasn’t until the 77th minute that Ross Barkley headed in a corner at the near post to make it 2-2. Far from seizing control after the equalizer, it was Palace who nearly clinched the win, denied only by 'Dibu’s' brilliant save on a Jeffrey Schlupp shot that hit the post.

Villa's last Premier League win was on October 19, and since then, they have only managed one victory in seven games, that being in the Champions League against Bologna.