Everton vs Aston Villa result and five things we learned as Emi Buendia silences Duncan Ferguson’s return

Emi Buendia’s first-half header earned Aston Villa a narrow win over Everton at Goodison Park as Duncan Ferguson’s second spell as caretaker manager ended in defeat in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Villa forward rose to meet a corner from former Everton defender Lucas Digne on the stroke of half-time, before the returning Digne and Matty Cash were hit by a plastic bottle thrown by a home fan from the stands.

Ben Godfrey had a header cleared off the line by Tyrone Mings as Everton pushed for an equaliser, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin squandered a chance from six yards as he stretched for Anthony Gordon’s cross.

The win moves Steven Gerrard’s side up to the 10th in the Premier League table and leaves Everton in 16th place, just three points above Norwich and five clear of the relegation zone.

Here are five things we learned.

Ferguson’s return falls flat

As he prepared to take charge of Everton in his second spell as caretaker manager, Duncan Ferguson demanded his players to run themselves into the ground for their fans.

It was the same message the former Everton striker gave when he took charge of a sensational win over Chelsea in December 2019, following the sacking of Marco Silva.

Ferguson hoped that by getting the fans back on side, he could inspire Everton to produce a similar performance and deliver a much-needed victory. It soon become clear, however, that Gerrard’s Villa were prepared to meet such an an approach head on and it left Everton looking woefully short.

That is not Ferguson’s fault, of course. It is more a damning indictment of their squad, particularly their midfield and full-back options, and it meant that when it came to trying to break Villa down, Everton struggled.

But Everton’s