Chris Wood fires Burnley past Aston Villa in five-goal Turf Moor thriller

Burnley twice came from behind before stealing all three points with a 3-2 win in a thrilling match against Aston Villa at Turf Moor.

The Villans were electric in the first half and took the lead inside 15 minutes as Ollie Watkins met Matt Targett’s low cross with the deftest of touches inside the box to put his side in front.

And from then on, the Clarets could hardly cope with the visitor’s pace as the imperious Jack Grealish dominated the midfield with yet another brilliant attacking performance.

Targett, Watkins, Armand Traore and Ross Barkley each went close as Villa looked to double their lead, but they were met by the equally brilliant Nick Pope who kept his side in the game at the interval.

But Burnley pulled a leveller out of nowhere as Ben Mee rose highest to meet Ashley Westwood’s corner with a pounding header to put the breaks on Villa’s momentum.

The hosts grew into the game and went toe-to-toe with Villa in the second half.

But they were dealt a suckerpunch when the brilliant Grealish finally got his goal and put Villa back in the lead after rifling past pope after a fine one-two with Douglas Luiz.

But the hosts were not finished yet. They fought back for the second time as Dwight McNeil’s low, fizzing cross evaded everyone in the box before nestling in the corner of the net to the surprise of everyone in the ground.

And then three minutes later they put Villa in a spin by taking the lead after Chris Wood headed home from Sam Vydra’s cross. The visitors were shellshocked and couldn’t find an equaliser, leaving with nothing despite leading twice. Burnley took all three points in the thriller and go ten points clear of the relegation zone.

Nick Pope (Burnley). It takes a special player to steal the man of the match award off Jack Grealish tonight, but Nick Pope deserves it. He kept his side in the game in the first half, and thanks to his stellar display they had the platform to get back into this in the second 45. Brilliant, as we’ve come to expect from the England man.

Villa blow it. For all the talk that Villa were on the verge of challenging for the top five, they’ve shown tonight that there’s still plenty to work on.

The visitors, and Grealish especially, looked brilliant but one man can’t win a game on his own over 90 minutes. They were sloppy at the back and even complacent at times, and somehow their captain ended up on the losing side.

Performances like this will have him looking elsewhere this summer because for all his good work Villa have somehow thrown this away. Nick Pope played a massive part in that and Burnley deserve huge credit, but Villa failed to kill this off in the first half and it only took 45 minutes to throw it all away.

Burnley: Pope 9, Lowton 7, Tarkowski 7, Mee 8, Pieters 6, Brady 6, Westwood 6, Brownhill 5, McNeil 7, Rodriguez 5, Wood 7. Subs. Cork 6, Gudmundsson 7, Vydra 7.

Villa: Martinez 6, Cash 5, Konsa 6, Mings 5, Targett 7, Luiz 7, McGinn 6, Traore 6, Barkley 5, Grealish 8, Watkins 7. Subs. Trezeguet n/a, El Ghazi n/a, Davis n/a.

14’ - GOAL! BURNLEY 0 ASTON VILLA 1 (Watkins, 14'). Brilliant move and Villa are ahead! Grealish down the left picks up Targett on the overlap and the full-back puts a great delivery into Watkins. The striker ghosts in front of Mee and applies the deftest of touches to open the scoring. Simple. Effective.

43’ - CLOSE! Chaos! Burnley hanging on! McGinn finds Watkins through the middle and the striker is one on one with Pope. His first touch isn't great and neither is his shot as Pope saves his side, but THEN Barkley volleys the rebound onto the bar! THEN! From the corner Traore's shot is blocked by his own player when it's heading goalwards!

52’ - GOAL! BURNLEY 1 VILLA 1 (Mee, 52). FROM NOTHING! Ben Mee has Burnley back level and it's simple as you like as he meets a corner with a flying header. Burnley have barely been involved but it's 1-1.

64’ - SAVE! Oh my gosh. Grealish almost scores a Puskas contender with a 50 yard run. He takes on so many defenders and just weaves his way into a shooting position before firing at Pope.

68’ - GOAL! BURNLEY 1 ASTON VILLA 2 (Grealish, 68'). There's his goal! Grealish plays a brilliant one-two with Douglas Luiz inside the box and rifles past Pope. Simple. Easy. Deadly.

76’ - GOAL! BURNLEY 2 ASTON VILLA 2 (McNeil, 76'). Another goal from nothing!This is a weird one too. McNeill fizzes a ball across the box and it just goes past everyone before nestling into the far corner. He's not meant that, but it's a goal!

79’ - GOAL! BURNLEY 3 ASTON VILLA 2 (Wood, 79'). Oh my word! They've turned it around! A simple ball over the top by Mee is saved by Vydra, and his ball in is met by Wood with a brilliant header into the far corner! What a game!