Aston Villa secured a 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday afternoon, as we produced a much-needed reaction after our disappointing start to the campaign.
After all the optimism and positivity over the summer, it was a humbling defeat at Newcastle Utd last weekend that left us in search of a response against the Toffees to immediately get back on track.
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While the visitors were poor in truth, Villa set the right tempo and standard from the off, and it was ultimately a convincing victory that will provide a boost for our confidence and morale after a difficult week.
Villa captain John McGinn admitted as much in his post-match interview as he conceded that it had been tough for the squad in the aftermath of the injuries sustained by Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings, but the approach, attitude and set-up was spot on as we got back to winning ways.
“Last week was tough for us,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s been tough to pick ourselves up [after injuries], but that one’s for them. We were hungry, upset and hurting, and we know we’re a good team. Last week was a setback, and we were so positive this week to try and turn that around.”
Emery gets key decisions right
With no Mings available, there was much talk about the options at the Spanish tactician’s disposal given the versatility in the defensive unit.
The Villa boss ultimately went for a back four of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne, and that was a well-balanced and disciplined backline that secured an important clean sheet.
In midfield, Leon Bailey came under fire after his performance at Newcastle, but Emery continued to show faith in him and was rewarded. From a more general perspective, he got his tactical set-up and system spot on too as we controlled and dominated the game in the way we wanted.
Pau Torres impresses in full debut
Having been thrown in at the deep end last weekend on Tyneside, this was a big day for the Spanish international as he looks to integrate himself into the defence and provide a reliable, calming and leading presence at the back.
Aside from one instance where he got caught out in behind by Danjuma, he was assured and in control both in and out of possession for the most part, and it was a significant boost to see him impress.
Villa have historically been poor without Mings having won just one of 12 league games without him dating back to 2019 prior to Sunday, but it looks as though we have a player with the experience and pedigree needed to fill that void as best as possible.
McGinn sets the tone
The Villa skipper will be the first to admit he wasn’t at his best against Newcastle, and invariably when he is on form and setting the tone, the rest of the team follows.
He was back to his influential best here with his imposing, physical play on the ball and work ethic off it, and he capped it off with a long-awaited goal at Villa Park too.
While there is perhaps still an argument that his best position is on the right side of our midfield, he set the standard here on the left and hopefully we’ll see him follow this up with another big performance on his return to Hibernian in midweek.
“I am very happy for him because he scored, and he is not usually scoring a lot,” Emery told the media when asked about McGinn. “He has to get to the box to create chances and to score. He did that perfectly for the first goal, and his performance today was very good, and is happy to play right side, left side, inside, playing as a midfielder, as a number 10 and I think he is very important for us. Like Leon Bailey last week, he didn’t play well but today he was amazing.”
Bailey produces much-needed decisive impact
Leon Bailey came under fire last weekend, on this site as well, as he struggled once again to have a positive influence on our play to go along with his defensive deficiencies.
Having been backed by Emery again on Sunday, the pressure was on him to deliver a performance to repay that faith shown in him, and it was good to see him make a decisive impact.
Following his assist for McGinn, his header was key in Ollie Watkins winning our penalty for the second, before he got on the scoresheet himself with our third. The challenge for him now though is to back this up and be more consistent.
Duran gets his first Villa goal
Just a minute after coming on, Jhon Duran finally registered his first goal for the club as he showed great desire and composure to win possession high up the pitch before slotting the ball in the back of the net.
That will hopefully be a major boost for him now as he has a key role to play this season in providing competition and depth for Watkins, and so we need him to make an impact when involved.
With Emery’s guidance and ability to improve players, there is little doubt that the 19-year-old will benefit and develop. This will hopefully be the first of many goals from him, but it’s a moment that he certainly won’t forget.
“It was his first goal with us, and after six months I think it’s good,” Emery said on Duran. “I think he has to feel good in the squad, with the team and with his teammates. How we’re playing, we want to add him trying to support, trying to demand of him more and more. Today he responded with a very good goal, but there is still a lot of work to do with him. He has to be our striker with Ollie Watkins and we have to be competitive with those players. Today, his impact was very brilliant.”
