There have been several occasions now under Unai Emery that have made Villa supporters sit up and take note. This is another one of them.
In a season with some fantastic highs now behind us already, it’s also as important to how you react after a bad result. This was a great response to a recent dip in form.
Indeed, after a disconcerting midweek performance and loss to Newcastle (1-3), all eyes were firmly fixed upon the type of fixture that Villa teams of old have faltered. However, there was no mistake this evening, as an utterly rampant Villa swept a desperate Sheffield United team aside.
So rapid was the demolition of our hosts that many cups of Bovril will have still been thermo-nuclear as Villa’s fourth struck the back of the next. It was a merciless, relentless and clinical opening 30 minutes of football. Chris Wilder, back at the club for a second term, watched on aghast.
Embed from Getty ImagesGOALS GOALS GOALS
The opener was a case of always following the ball in, with McGinn tapping home after the ball rebounded off the upright on 12 minutes. Just 4 minutes later, Ollie Watkins ran onto an outrageous through ball from Luiz, steering the ball home whilst under pressure for two.
Bailey was next on the scoresheet, cutting inside before lofting a ball high into the top corner. There was no let-up for The Blades, with Youri Tielemans firing home an unstoppable effort in off the crossbar. 4-0 was an excellent 30 minutes of work.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe stadium duly emptied, in the home ends at least.
Moreno rubbed salt into the wounds just 2 minutes after the break to make it 5, completing the rout.
A late VAR check aside to deny United a consolation was about the only moment of worry, but a clean sheet was salvaged.
This was a great response to the last game and also a timely reset of tone after a few weeks of indifferent individual and collective form. May this be the springboard for the remainder of the season? We shall see.
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