194 days after suffering his injury at Anfield, Aston Villa left-back Alex Moreno made his long-awaited return on Thursday night and made quite the impact.
The 30-year-old was excellent in his 79-minute contribution, as not only was it fundamental as he builds his match fitness back up, but he showed little sign of being away for so long.
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With his trademark driving runs forward down the left flank coupled with his sharp passing and darting movement into good areas to provide width and an attacking threat, it was great to see the Spaniard make his comeback and offer a decisive presence again.
Not content with just feeling his way back into the first-team, Moreno even added a game-winning goal in the second half as he produced an excellent, improvised finish to make it 2-1, and thus sealed all three points against Legia Warszawa to put us in control in our attempts to top Group E in the Europa Conference League.
It’s been a difficult road back for him having spent so many months recovering and going through his rehabilitation work, and there was further frustration and disappointment when he suffered a setback in September and was forced to push back his return date.
However, his smile was back this week as he spoke after the game, and he took the opportunity to not only emphasise the importance of the result, but to communicate his delight and gratitude to all concerned who helped him during his spell on the sidelines.
“I am very, very happy,” Moreno told VillaTV. “It’s a massive win, an incredible victory. “For me, it’s very important for (my) comeback, very important to play with my team-mates, for the club. It’s also very important to score a goal and it’s a massive win.”
“I want to thank everybody. The club, the fans, the physios, the staff, my family, friends, everybody.
“Today is very important for me, for this goal, to play and for my confidence.”
Moreno does now face a battle to reclaim the left-back position on a regular basis, such has been the impressive form of Lucas Digne in his absence so far this season.
Competition for places is not only healthy but necessary at Villa this season if we are to compete on multiple fronts, as we look to sustain our Premier League push while targeting European success.
Nevertheless, both players will be desperate to establish themselves as the first-choice option for Unai Emery in that role to play week in and week out, and Moreno certainly made a strong case to come back in full-time in the coming weeks as he continues to get fitter and sharper.
While that debate can wait for now, it was simply great to see the Spanish defender back in the side and having the same influence he had prior to his injury setback, which in turn made him such an instant hit with the Villa fans.
Alex Moreno goal!#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/2diXxKKRD0
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) November 30, 2023