[gerdm07]

That was quality football in the first half from both sides and we were the better side. That is all the proof I need that Ole is taking us in the right direction. I don't understand how anyone could think differently.

I really liked how we were closing down their players with 2 or 3 players from the 80th minute on. We are a hungry team and want to win.

My only disappointment was that we didn't see the match out with more possession at the end.

Maguire and Bailly could be a great CB duo.

 

[man united 4eva]

Just realized we're the first club to record 10 wins in the Premier League this season.. which is fantastic to say we got off to a shaky start in our first few home games..

 

[Stig]

Great win but Ole needs to wake up
1) James for Bruno was a shocking decision (Rashford was both poor and exhausted), and also left us with a big gap in midfield
2) a lot of carelessness at the end from Pogba/ Rashford, who were bailed out by Bailly - just take the ball to the corner of the pitch and run the clock, almost cost us the game

In the first 90 seconds he was on the pitch James had a shot on target, made a tackle, and won a foul. The next thing he did was win a 50-50 ball. What is wrong with that ?

Going into the corner usually wastes about 5 seconds and gives the ball back to them. Why not risk a shot or cross and a possible goal and hope to hang on for the extra 4 seconds ?

 

[Stig]

Great result and overall performance! Need to get Donnie going because Mctominay needs to be replaced. Bailly please stay healthy and PP keep this going!

Why does McTominay need to be replaced ?

 

[lex talionis]

All true.

It's such a long way to go though.... fingers crossed we keep the consistency.

Definitely, but now we can plausibly dream of a run on the PL trophy. In years past, we’ve worried that we’d barely make top four and missed out a few times.

 

[Stig]

Lucky to win against a good villa side. Stupid goal to concede with multiple trying to stop the free kick instead of marking Grealish. McTominay was a disaster, totally zero quality today. Can't even put in a easy pass. Rushford should be substituted by Greenwood. I see chicken headless James on for the last 10 mins, can't understand why.

I see that your glass in half empty.

https://www.udemy.com/topic/positive-thinking/ - try this site.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

It was a nice palette cleanser after having to play Wolves the other night.

Great exciting game.

 

[Tapori]

James did well.

Bailly immense
Maguire looks a CB now though still slow
AWB back to his best
Shaw good
McT - Average
Fred - Poor today
Bruno - Decent
Pogba - Very good
Matic - Needed
Martial - Do we have a CF learning from Cavani
Rashford - BUSY

 

[prateik]

Well positioned for a top 4 finish..
4 points ahead..

edit: scratch that.. City will be 1 behind us after they play their games.. still 4 ahead of 5th.

 

[Tapori]

All the people crying.
In other times we draw or lose that.

THAT BLOCK AT THE END

 

[RedTiger]

We are doing the treble

Oh ye of little faith. We are in 4 competitions.

 

[Leftback99]

Excellent result. They were as good as anyone we've faced this season and we had to play well to win it.

 

[Compton22]

Well positioned for a top 4 finish..
4 points ahead..

edit: scratch that.. City will be 1 behind us after they play their games.. still 4 ahead of 5th.

Edit: Edit: Don't count on City winning both of those games

 

[MrSingh2002]

They literally aren’t alike at all... how many games have you really watched? Grealish is a left forward these days, only played centrally because Barkley is injured and their replacements are shit. Grealish would replace Rashford on the left side if anything.

Sharap. Do not care what position a player is currently playing. Grealish can play as a number 8 and a 10.

And what game we're you watching tonight u dummy. Pogba played left side in a 4222.

 

[lex talionis]

Still buzzing.

Lots of praise to go around but Bailly was MOTM. But I’d gave no problem supporting a motion to give it to Pogba, who dominated midfield.

It looks like the official MOTM was Bruno, who was also excellent, but I’m quite sure if you polled the players themselves they’d give it to Bailly. But Shaw and De Gea were also outstanding.

 

[prateik]

Edit: Edit: Don't count on City winning both of those games

Chelsea and Everton.. I'd rather see them win it.. Will take points off our top 4 rivals..

And that'll also put some pressure on Liverpool instead of giving them another free run at the title.

 

[Rustyspider13]

I agree that the first sub was a good choice. Mctominay was sloppy vs Villa. Having said that, I would have changed Bruno and Rashford around the 80th minute. DvB and Greenwood in.
I understand James got in for the counter attacks and Tuanzebe for the corners.

Yep, all the subs were understandable and had clear tactical reason. I think VdB will have to bide his time and play less important games to cement a position. EL and FA cup should be his time to shine. Greenwood's minutes are being managed and with Cavani's ban he will likely be involved vs City.

 

[Polar]

They [Villa] aren’t a great team

It’s your words. Try again when they are in the lower end of the table! Right now it only sounds stupid.

They have several strings to play in offensively.
Grealish, who you mentioned, is off course a very good player, but they have other players with a lot of quality as well, ex Traore.

 

[Wheato]

We beat a decent side tonight. On the whole the gameplan worked and I agreed with the subs. McTom wasn't at it tonight, think he might have had a late night for NYE. Bringing Matic on was the right move. He dealt with Grealish, even if it meant a sneaky foul, it worked in putting them off their stride. I think Marcus was sulking a little on the right, doesn't seem too happy out there, but still a threat. AWB was reformed, it was like he suddenly realised his attacking deficiencies and set out to prove a point. He was attacking more than Rashford was in the first half. Bailly was a Beast, he won every ball he out came for, and they didn't get a sniff down his side. We need to keep him fit.

I am happy for our core players having a rest against City in the 'what ever it's called' cup. We have a decent enough squad now to shuffle the pack and play VDB, Mata, Greenwood and James.

 

[Offside]

How have Chelsea overtaken Villa because of this? Weren't Villa 5th before tonight?

 

[Pooley247]

Fantastic result. Made it hard towards the end for ourselves but fought to the last minute. Bailly was a beast, and we need to get Grealish, he’s different class

 

[reelworld]

In the first 90 seconds he was on the pitch James had a shot on target, made a tackle, and won a foul. The next thing he did was win a 50-50 ball. What is wrong with that ?

Cash was giving us problems and I tought it's a good move to give him something to worry about

Going into the corner usually wastes about 5 seconds and gives the ball back to them. Why not risk a shot or cross and a possible goal and hope to hang on for the extra 4 seconds ?

It's 20 seconds left on the clock. Slow it down, pass it back to AWB, do whatever it takes to waste time dor 20 secs is better than crossing it and give the possession back to them

 

[Stig]

Cash was giving us problems and I tought it's a good move to give him something to worry about

It's 20 seconds left on the clock. Slow it down, pass it back to AWB, do whatever it takes to waste time dor 20 secs is better than crossing it and give the possession back to them

If there were only 20 seconds left; then you are right and I am wrong - I didn't realize it was so close to the end -- it felt like about 5 minutes !!

 

[Rustyspider13]

How have Chelsea overtaken Villa because of this? Weren't Villa 5th before tonight?

From what I can tell, Villa had +1 GD on Chelsea but a worse Goals For. They're level on GD now so, Chelsea's GF put them over.

 

[automaticflare]

Villa are a good side. Lot of comments here think they are pushovers. I think they play really good football for, in general, a team short of stars (other than grealish)

mcginn is a very good player
Watkins is dangerous forward
Mings (I don’t like as a footballer) is a solid defender
Fullbacks are good players and comfortably could get moves to other premier league teams

this was a dangery game IMO. I thoight we did well overall. Pogba should have had a peno for the elbow. But even not thinking on that we got into so many good positions. Like a lot of good positions where we didn’t capitalize. We lacked a little composure in those situations. I hope we learn there. Like Leicester.

my negative is their goal. Like Leicester I think full back switches off again.I am worried about our defense standing up. IMO that is two games now full backs have been exposed. Where j worry about “learning” is because I think bissaka today is almost identical to Shaw against Leicester. As a full back you have to get back into your shape. 1st rule, don’t get out of shape, second rule, get back into shape. That’s twice in quick succession I believe it cost us goals.

goal difference table doesn’t lie. We are letting in more goals than most of the league. No bueno.

Delighted though! I love the teams attitude!

oh and just buy grealish now

 

[reddevil702]

Why does McTominay need to be replaced ?

He’s a very limited player, doesn’t offer much outside of energy. Need another mid who can contribute with better passing and vision. Think Donnie will be able to do that eventually.

 

[Foxbatt]

Villa are a very good side. it was a great three points. We played well today and got most things right tactically. Individual mistakes need to be cut out like for their goal.
Rashford needs to be less selfish and not slow down the play. Once Ole can sort these details out we would get a lot better.

 

[Villa2000]

Villa fan in peace

Firstly what a fantastic game. In my view the most dangerous team we have played this season. You are certainly on the way back up. Hats off.

Its just nice for us not to be a laughing stock anymore. We fear nobody and im loving it.

On the Grealish subject, i very much doubt he will be leaving the club he loves when we are on the way up, with great football, rich owners and hopefully a top half finish. He will want to take his club further. If we fail then yes he will go and who can blame him.

Wish you well for the season. One of these days we owe you a thumping for all the years of defeats

 

[RedRonaldo]

So, we are going to win the league aren't we?

 

[RedTiger]

Chelsea and Everton.. I'd rather see them win it.. Will take points off our top 4 rivals..

And that'll also put some pressure on Liverpool instead of giving them another free run at the title.

I'd rather see them draw both those games. 3 birds injured with 1 stone.

 

[iluvoursolskjær]

Having only just fully recovered from Covid this is a sexy start to the year yo

 

[BaillyBaillyBailly]

We beat a decent side tonight. On the whole the gameplan worked and I agreed with the subs. McTom wasn't at it tonight, think he might have had a late night for NYE. Bringing Matic on was the right move. He dealt with Grealish, even if it meant a sneaky foul, it worked in putting them off their stride. I think Marcus was sulking a little on the right, doesn't seem too happy out there, but still a threat. AWB was reformed, it was like he suddenly realised his attacking deficiencies and set out to prove a point. He was attacking more than Rashford was in the first half. Bailly was a Beast, he won every ball he out came for, and they didn't get a sniff down his side. We need to keep him fit.

I am happy for our core players having a rest against City in the 'what ever it's called' cup. We have a decent enough squad now to shuffle the pack and play VDB, Mata, Greenwood and James.

I really hope Ole plays a 2nd string side against City and Watford. I would put a huge amount of emphasis on the Burnley/Liverpool games, I think if we win those we as much as guarantee top 4 and it actually puts us in a real position to challenge for the title.

 

[charlenefan]

Well positioned for a top 4 finish..
4 points ahead..

edit: scratch that.. City will be 1 behind us after they play their games.. still 4 ahead of 5th.

This is actually what I'm looking at at the moment, every win is just making another top 4 finish more achievable. People forget but we haven't finished in the top 4 in back to back seasons post Fergie so that alone will be a sign of progression and given how things looked after a poor summer and the starts both Chelsea and Spurs made I was worried we wouldn't be good enough this season (still am)

 

[justsomebloke]

I too raised an eyebrow at Bruno's substitution, but it was 86 minutes, and James in my view did not do badly in his brief spell. I think far too many people have put themselves in a frame of mind where they don't really judge him fairly when he's on the pitch.

I also think Bruno was a good deal better than decent. If you add up all the good things he does in the course of the game, it amounts to more than possibly anyone other than Pogba (definitely my MoM) tonight, although it was not one of his more eye-catching performances. A bit of the same thing with Rashford - the thing is, they're involved in so much that the things that don't work tend to drown out just how many good things they do over the course of a game.

Certainly a strong game by Bailly, but I wouldn't go as far as many other posters. To my mind he was better against Wolves. The D did well as a unit. Shaw was questionable in the first half, when he struggled defensively on several occasions, but much better in the second.

Perhaps the biggest piece of good news here when it comes to individual players was Martial. A very good, if not dominant, game where he finally scored the kind of goal he should be scoring regularly. Hopefully that'll kickstart him. Perfect timing, with Cavani out for another two games.

And, they played like a team. For once, it wasn't half the team being nothing special and the other half being good, with 1-2 players more than good. Almost the whole team did very well, Fred and McTominay really the only pedestrian performances. I think - hope - that what that shows isn't so much unusually many players having a good evening, but rather that things are really starting to gel collectively, making everyone better.

 

[Offside]

From what I can tell, Villa had +1 GD on Chelsea but a worse Goals For. They're level on GD now so, Chelsea's GF put them over.

Thanks.

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

A easy win against Aston Villa was never possible but we have still made it again so difficult to get the 3 points but hey i would take another 22 league matches like this one

 

[Harry190]

How good were Aston Villa eh.

 

[justsomebloke]

Villa are a good side. Lot of comments here think they are pushovers. I think they play really good football for, in general, a team short of stars (other than grealish)

mcginn is a very good player
Watkins is dangerous forward
Mings (I don’t like as a footballer) is a solid defender
Fullbacks are good players and comfortably could get moves to other premier league teams

this was a dangery game IMO. I thoight we did well overall. Pogba should have had a peno for the elbow. But even not thinking on that we got into so many good positions. Like a lot of good positions where we didn’t capitalize. We lacked a little composure in those situations. I hope we learn there. Like Leicester.

my negative is their goal. Like Leicester I think full back switches off again.I am worried about our defense standing up. IMO that is two games now full backs have been exposed. Where j worry about “learning” is because I think bissaka today is almost identical to Shaw against Leicester. As a full back you have to get back into your shape. 1st rule, don’t get out of shape, second rule, get back into shape. That’s twice in quick succession I believe it cost us goals.

goal difference table doesn’t lie. We are letting in more goals than most of the league. No bueno.

Delighted though! I love the teams attitude!

oh and just buy grealish now

Full agreement. So far this season, Villa is a top 4 team, a threat to anyone. Blatant lack of concentration from Wan-Bissaka on the Villa goal. It's quite uplifting really to consider that we have potential for improvement in all areas of the team:

- We have all seen De Gea better than he's been so far this season
- The D was considerably better post-January last season than they are now, with the same players. A lot of goals are lapses in concentration and correctable mistakes.
- We have yet to figure out the optimal configuration of the midfield
- Martial and Greenwood haven't really got going yet, not like they did late last year.

 

[Sing you a song]

Why does McTominay need to be replaced ?
Exactly he has had a great season him and Fred have been excellent

 

[Sing you a song]

Villa fan in peace

Firstly what a fantastic game. In my view the most dangerous team we have played this season. You are certainly on the way back up. Hats off.

Its just nice for us not to be a laughing stock anymore. We fear nobody and im loving it.

On the Grealish subject, i very much doubt he will be leaving the club he loves when we are on the way up, with great football, rich owners and hopefully a top half finish. He will want to take his club further. If we fail then yes he will go and who can blame him.

Wish you well for the season. One of these days we owe you a thumping for all the years of defeats

great to see Villa doing well a great club with fantastic history so pleased you stayed up last year and hope you get into the European places , would love us to sign Grealish but respect him for being loyal to his club