Villa made a big mistake of only playing a two man central midfield. That meant that they lost control of the midfield as we outnumbered them and passed around them. So instead of playing through the middle, all they could do was hit long balls which we comfortably swept up through the match without any issue.
I had predicted that we would win comfortably 3-1, but a 4-0 actual score exceeded any actual belief that I had with the score. I just knew that Villa had leaked goals against Forest and Luton so they were there for the taking.
It was hard to identify who was man of the match with several top level performances including Son, Sarr and Porro but that’s just three players whereas any number could have been named and I’m probably doing something a disservice by not including them there but it’s 6am so just off of my memory.
I think now we have almost everyone back, hoping Richarlison will return soon and that VDV injury isn’t anything serious, I think we will finish the season strongly and show just how good we are as a team. I think 4th is absolutely our’s.
Finally…. I have one confession… I was wrong about Johnson. I believed him to be a waste of money, thought that he didn’t work hard enough off the ball, and that in attack he wasn’t good at decision making. I was completely wrong. The fee whilst still a significant outlay was clearly paid for a player that has significant potential, a homegrown player who is already able to deliver high level performances and get goals and assists for us, and who fights for the team and gets stuck in with tackles from the start to the finish. I’m definitely a big supporter of his off his recent performances and think he deserves to regularly start.
Oh and I almost forgot… well done to Werner for scoring again. If he can find his confidence from his two goals, which does appear to be returning, then his time at our club is going to be longer than just a few months. He finished very well yesterday and seems to have connected well with the crowd. He had his critics but it seems like people are on board with him now and he’s another who could get a lot of support at the club. Great to have him as an option.