AMSTERDAM – It all turned sour near the end for Brad Guzan and Aston Villa, who suffered a 2-1 defeat against Premier League hosts Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The US goalkeeper rang up four saves, two cross claims and a punch, but failed to log his 50th overall victory for the Villains after conceding twice in the final 19 minutes. Guzan's first highlight of the day came when he robbed Eagles debutant Bakary Sako mere seconds out of intermission.
Shortly after Scott Dann opened the scoring with a restart header in the 71st minute, Guzan got his hands up quick enough to detour a Jason Puncheon rocket wide. He was rewarded moments later with a Villa equalizer, but an error by the away defense three minutes from time allowed Sako to play Palace hero with an 18-yard drive that left the American netminder no chance.
Around the league, Geoff Cameron and Norwich City were under siege for much of the day, but escaped Norwich City with a 1-1 share.
The stand-in center back was among the culpable on Russell Martin's 28th-minute leveler. Cameron did enjoy a fine day in the passing game, with 11 positive deliveries in or into the attacking half among his 47 completions. He also pitched in with two pass picks and a pair of area shot blocks.
One floor down in the Championship, Eric Lichaj worked a lukewarm full shift as Nottingham Forest posted a 1-1 draw at Bolton. In addition to picking up his first yellow card of the season, the right back contributed four passes into the final third, three tackles and three clearances.
Meanwhile, Tim Ream suited up, but did not appear as Fulham dropped a 1-0 home decision to Huddersfield Town.
Over in the Bundesliga, Timothy Chandler hopped off the bench at halftime for an active season debut that helped Eintracht Frankfurt rally late for a 1-1 share against visiting Augsburg. The right back drew a save from over 30 meters near the hour and put four serves into the area during his half of work.
