This game had it all: a goal after 34 seconds, another in the third minute of stoppage time, a winner even later, plus chances cleared off the line, penalty appeals, questionable refereeing decisions and a world-class performance by Ashley Young, Aston Villa’s England winger.

The action was unrelenting. Villa took the lead with the fastest goal in the Barclays Premier League this season, when Steve Sidwell beat Tim Howard with a right-foot strike from 25 yards. Everton equalised after half an hour thanks to Joleon Lescott’s close-range finish from a free kick taken by Mikel Arteta, and David Moyes’s team went close to taking the lead twice through Marouane Fellaini before a terrible back-pass by Phil Jagielka allowed Young to clip the ball over Howard to make it 2-1 to Villa.

Everton thought they had done enough to salvage a point when Joleon Lescott levelled the scores with three minutes of added time played, thanks to an acrobatic finish, but there was another twist in the tale. The fourth official had indicated that there would be three minutes of stoppage time and the match was entering the 94th minute. Villa kicked off, gave the ball away, Arteta was caught in possession, Young was played in by Gabriel Agbonlahor, and he sprinted away from Lescott and Joseph Yobo before scoring with almost the last kick of the game.

“It was extraordinary stuff,” Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, said. “It was an incredible game, an incredible last minute and an incredible footballer scored two incredible goals.”

O’Neill’s assessment of Young’s performance was predictably enthusiastic. “He has a heart the size of a lion,” said O’Neill, who has not lost a game at Goodison Park as a player or manager. “I know I am eulogising, but he’s a world-class footballer. He’s absolutely sensational. He’s incredible. He has the ability to produce in the big games and I’m ecstatic.”

While O’Neill savoured Young’s virtuoso performance, Moyes was struggling to come to terms with what he had seen. According to the Everton manager, his side had been the better team and were worth at least a draw. “My players didn’t deserve that,” he said. “I can’t describe how disappointed I am. Our performance from the second to the 93rd minute was unbelievable and I couldn’t have asked for any more. I think Villa are the team who are most likely to break into the top four, but I thought today was Everton’s day.”

Having regained fifth place from Hull City, Villa will need to replace John Carew when the transfer window opens next month — the Norway forward is sidelined with a back injury — if they are to make further progress. Henrik Larsson, the former Sweden forward, has been linked with a move to Villa Park, but O’Neill denied that he is interested in the 37-year-old. “There is not a scrap of truth in that rumour,” O’Neill said.

Larsson has also been linked with a move to Everton and it is easy to see why Moyes’s team could do with his killer instinct in front of goal. Injuries to Yakubu Ayegbeni, Louis Saha and James Vaughan meant that Everton had to start with Victor Anichebe as a lone attacker yesterday. Anichebe lasted 86 minutes before leaving the pitch with a niggling back injury and his departure forced Moyes to play Jagielka as a makeshift forward.

Jagielka’s aerial threat played a part in creating Lescott’s equaliser, but he was nowhere to be seen when Young broke Everton hearts in the dying seconds. “Was it a good game?” O’Neill asked before leaving Goodison Park. There will be few better this season.