Aston Villa made it back-to-back wins in the Premier League with Joachim Andersen’s first-half own goal enough to secure 1-0 victory over 10-man Crystal Palace
Unai Emery's side had an early scare when the returning Wilfried Zaha had an early goal ruled out for offside by VAR, but it was the home side who eventually took the lead when Joachim Andersen turned Matty Cash's low cross into his own net (27)
Palace's problems grew worse just after the hour mark when Cheick Doucoure was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on substitute Calum Chambers, and there was no way back for Patrick Vieira's side as their struggles in front of goal continued
The defeat extended Palace's winless run to nine matches as Vieira's side stay six points above the relegation places
 They remain winless in 2023 and their worrying drop towards the relegation zone continues with games against title challengers Man City and Arsenal to come in their next three games
Vieira challenged his side to bounce back
He said: "Overall, we knew how tough that run of games was going to be
 It's important for us to get back and compete because we know that we can compete against teams like Manchester City
 We did it against Liverpool and always at home we find the strength to compete at the level we can do
"I'm not more worried than I was after the game against Liverpool
 It's important for us to bounce back and start winning games
 Of course, it is tight and we have to keep working well and working hard
"Meanwhile, victory sees Villa, who stay 11th, move seven points ahead of Palace in 12th
Speaking after the game, Villa boss Emery said the win was an important one for confidence
He said: "Our idea was to win with a clean sheet - we did it
 To keep everybody confident, it was an important victory
 I'm very happy
""I've said before I don't think Crystal Palace will be relegated, and I stand by that
"But they are being dragged into the fight to avoid the drop, especially after the result against Villa and the way the game went
"Other teams in and around Palace are winning football matches which is making things difficult
"The next three games Palace play are against Man City at home and then Brighton and Arsenal away
 They are tough games
"Palace are just not winning football matches and that will be a huge disappointment for Patrick Vieira
"The pattern for this game was set early
 Aston Villa were dominating the ball, while Crystal Palace were looking to strike on the break, and it almost worked for the visitors
Zaha, returning to Palace's starting XI after four games out with a hamstring injury, raced in behind the Villa defence to latch onto Eberechi Eze's through ball and round Emiliano Martinez to give what he thought was an early lead to his side
However, the VAR lines were out and the goal was disallowed following a tight offside call
In a game of few chances, Villa took the lead with 27 minutes gone thanks to an own goal from the unfortunate Andersen
John McGinn's pass perfectly found the run of Matty Cash and as his low cross sought Ollie Watkins in the middle, Andersen slid in but could only send the ball into his own net
Villa who should have extended their lead before the break
 Emiliano Buendia's pass found Watkins, who found himself free inside the area, but he could only place his shot the wrong side of the post
There had been little sign of Palace finding a way back into the game in the early part of the second half, and they were then left with a mountain to climb just after the hour mark
Doucoure was booked for a nasty-looking challenge which ended Boubacar Kamara's afternoon in the 56th minute, and when he then left Kamara's replacement Calum Chambers needing treatment with another late tackle moments later
Referee Craig Pawson had little option but to produce a second yellow card, leaving Palace not just a goal down but also a man down
Zaha did his best to try and get Palace back into the game, wriggling free of three defenders before bending a shot inches wide
Vicente Guaita did well to keep out McGinn's shot from close range as Villa pushed for a second, and the midfielder wasted another glorious opening when he took too long to get a shot away after meeting Chambers' cutback, and his shot was blocked
In the end, the missed chances didn't prove costly as Villa made it two wins from as many league games, while Palace's slow drop towards the relegation zone continued
Zaha returned from a hamstring injury for Crystal Palace at Aston Villa after missing Vieira's side's last four games with Palace failing to get a win in his absence
 His return would have been a big boost for the Palace boss, even if there was probably a chance of a lack of match sharpness from the Ivory Coast international
However, it took just five minutes at Villa Park for Zaha to show his worth as he raced in behind the Villa defence to latch onto Eberechi Eze's pass before rounding goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to give what he thought was the lead for Palace
 VAR ruled the goal out for a tight offside call, but Zaha showed his worth to Palace and the threat he carries
But where's his support?Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison said on : "Zaha looked the most likely to do something for Palace, but he should be a bit ring rusty
 He's been out for weeks but he's the one making the runs over the top
 He got a goal early on which was disallowed for a tight offside, but I did think he went slightly too early
"You cannot keep relying on Zaha season after season
 He has continually delivered for Palace and I'm sure he will be the difference again for them this season because he does have that X-factor
 But other players do have to start contributing
"Palace have scored just four goals in their last nine games
 They are winless in those nine games and winless in 2023
They sit just six points above the relegation places and while Vieira has maintained his belief in his side and said he does not fear relegation, if their poor form continues and others fail to support the returning Zaha, the concern will deepen at Selhurst Park
"Both teams did not create very much
 But at the end, the details went against us but the disallowed goal was important, of course
" "Of course getting a result is important
 But we had a couple of tough games and at times we defended and played quite well
 Today that wasn't really the case
"Overall, we knew how tough that run of games was going to be
 It's important for us to get back and compete because we know that we can compete against teams like Manchester City
 We did it against Liverpool and always at home we find the strength to compete at the level we can do
"I'm not more worried than I was after the game against Liverpool
 It's important for us to bounce back and start winning games
 Of course, it is tight and we have to keep working well and working hard
""Our idea was to win with a clean sheet - we did it
 To keep everybody confident, it was an important victory
 I'm very happy
"Of course, we can analyse the match and the first half, and second half were very different
 The first half was better, we deserved to win that half
 They had a goal, but it was offside
 But in that first half, we were playing like we are trying to do
"Second half is a little bit strange