If Aston Villa needed to signal that they are genuine Premier League title challengers, their victory over Burnley fulfilled that requirement.

Not that their 3-2 win over the Clarets was convincing, far from it. It was only sealed in the final minutes of regulation time through a penalty which struck the bar twice.

But it ticked the box of winning ugly, of securing three points even when well below their best. If Villa - now level on points with leaders Liverpool - are to stay in the title race, these are the wins they need.

"It was very important after our last two matches without points like we want," Aston Villa manager Unai Emery told Match of the Day.

"We did very good work, but we struggled in some moments. I respect Burnley a lot because they are doing a lot of good work."

An action-packed match saw the hosts lead three times, culminating in Douglas Luiz scoring a penalty after Villa academy product Aaron Ramsey - who joined Burnley in the summer - tripped Jhon Duran.

Luiz's penalty was itself suitably chaotic - after taking an age to begin his run-up, the Brazilian's shot hit the bar, bounced on the line and hit the bar again, before finally landing in James Trafford's net.

It was the denouement of a game which saw Burnley denied a first-half lead by a narrow offside call, Villa take a first-half lead following a narrow offside call and the visitors reduced to 10 men after two avoidable yellow cards for Sander Berge.

If Villa do produce one of the greatest Premier League title triumphs, this will be viewed as a pivotal win - even if it wasn't one of their most clinical.