Wednesday 13 January 2016 12:48, UK
An error by Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey helped give Aston Villa their first win since the opening day of the season on Tuesday night at Villa Park.
It's also Remi Garde's first victory since taking over in November but leaves Villa still deep in the mire with only 11 points from 21 games.
The 1982 European champions are one of seven ever-present teams since the formation of the Premier League, but is there any hope for them?
In truth, there is no precedent for staying in the division with such a points haul at this stage of the season…
Three lessons from history
There are 70 teams that have been relegated from the Premier League and only three of them have had so few points this deep into a campaign. None of them survived.
In fact, all three teams finished rock bottom of the Premier League. It doesn't bode well for Garde and his men.
Bolton had 10 points after 21 games of the 1995/96 season and while they rallied sufficiently to scrape together 29 points by the end of the season, it was not enough to avoid the drop.
A decade later, Mick McCarthy's Sunderland were stuck on six points after 21 games - still the worst ever record at this stage - and things got little better.
The Black Cats finished with 15 points, a full 23 away from safety. It's not quite the worst haul in Premier League history though.
That record belongs to Derby and, thanks to Tuesday's game at Villa Park, will stay that way for some time to come.
The Rams had seven points at this stage in 2007/08 and could only amass 11 by the end of the season.
One hope to cling to…
It's a sorry bunch of statistics. So is there any hope for Villa? Well, while no side has escaped with 11 points, there is one that managed to get out of danger having picked up 12 from 21 games.
West Midlands rivals West Brom are an unlikely source of inspiration but their so-called Great Escape in 2004/05 shows that strange things can happen in the Premier League.
The Baggies survived on a dramatic final day in which they were still bottom of the table deep into the second half. Villa can only dream of a repeat of such drama this May…
