Aston Villa squandered a golden opportunity to close the gap on Arsenal and leapfrog Manchester City. A single point at home against Everton (0-1) would have seen the Villans climb to second place, but David Moyes' side had other plans.
Captain John McGinn's injury just 18 minutes in was the first setback for a team that had an unlucky matchday 22. Everton found the back of the net in the 35th minute, but Jake O'Brien's precise strike was disallowed by the assistant referee, a decision confirmed by VAR.
Guessand, who came on for McGinn, still managed to cause a scare just before halftime, but the deadlock remained. The first real chance of the second half fell to Morgan Rogers, who, rather carelessly, shot over the bar from a prime scoring position in the 51st minute.
Everton capitalized on their opponents' wastefulness to find joy in the 59th minute. Martínez saved McNeil's initial attempt, but the rebound fell to Barry, who opened the scoring with a neat and effective chip. Aston Villa then piled the pressure on the Liverpool side's goal but ran into an inspired Jordan Pickford.
The English goalkeeper pulled off a monumental save that preserved Everton's lead, which lasted until the final whistle. Aston Villa remain in third place in the Premier League, level on 43 points with Manchester City.
In the day's early kick-off, Wolverhampton drew at home with Newcastle, extending their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four games. The Wolves, however, still sit in last place with eight points.