Jeffrey Schlupp snatches late leveller for Palace at Aston Villa

Substitute Jeffrey Schlupp netted a late equaliser as Crystal Palace secured a 1-1 draw at fellow Premier League mid-table side Aston Villa.

Schlupp, three minutes after coming on, finished from close range in the 81st minute to cancel out Ollie Watkins’ 69th-minute opener.

Lucas Digne had a strike saved by Jack Butland and Watkins hit a shot wide in stoppage time as a subsequent Villa push to reclaim the lead proved in vain.

The result left Patrick Vieira’s Palace and Steven Gerrard’s Villa still in 11th and 12th place respectively, a point apart.

After Gerrard and his team performed a pre-match guard of honour for players who were part of Villa’s 1982 European Cup triumph, the hosts made a lively start to the contest, with Danny Ings sending two early shots off-target.

Philippe Coutinho, on his first appearance since his loan at Villa from Barcelona was turned into a permanent deal earlier in the week, then tried his luck from distance, firing wide in the 11th minute.

Palace responded with a Conor Gallagher header that was blocked by Ezri Konsa and Eberechi Eze drilling wide before Wilfried Zaha saw a strike pushed away by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Ings went close just after the half-hour mark with a curling attempt after receiving the ball from Watkins, and Martinez was then called into action again at the other end as he dived to turn behind a shot by Nathaniel Clyne.

Clyne subsequently skewed a further effort into the stand as the interval neared, while Zaha vented his frustration after a tackle by John McGinn, briefly squaring up to the Scot and then protesting to referee Chris Kavanagh.

Villa suffered a setback in the opening moments of the second half with Konsa limping off following a coming together with