Anwar El-Ghazi twice gave Villa the lead at the Hawthorns, with Gayle cancelling out the Dutchman’s first before Jay Rodriguez bundled in a controversial late leveller.

In the same division, Jack Colback played the bulk of Nottingham Forest’s surprise 1-0 defeat to Preston North End at the City Ground, a result which saw Aitor Karanka’s side drop out of the play-off zone.

Elsewhere, it was an eventful afternoon for young pair Dan Barlaser and Luke Charman, with Accrington Stanley’s League One clash with Sunderland abandoned because of a waterlogged pitch at the Crown Ground. Barlaser started for mid-table Stanley, with Charman coming on as a substitute less than five minutes before referee Oliver Langford decided the surface was no longer playable. That was Charman’s fifth appearance for Accrington, but his first in the league.

In League Two, Josef Yarney started and finished Morecambe’s 2-2 draw with Port Vale, where the Shrimps squandered a two-goal lead inside the final ten minutes.

And, further afield, in Turkey, Henri Saivet was withdrawn late on as Bursaspor lost 2-0 at home to Antalyaspor in the Süper Lig. That was just a second defeat in eight league outings for the Yeşil Timsahlar, who currently lie in mid-table.