Aston Villa v Man City, a referee and two linesmen Post Match Thread

[ROBBO]

The big difference between the two sides were they retained the ball well and we tended to turn it over. Happy the players put in but Trez is a woeful player to bring on. Good that Davis came on he holds the ball well and if he stays fit will make a difference.

[Steve67]

I thought we played ok.  City overloaded the wide areas in the first half really well and we ask AEG and Elmo to tuck in rather than mark their wider players, thus making it look like Freddie and Targett were struggling.  Just good play from City imo.  Robbed for the second goal but defended it poorly.  It's absolutely no good whatsoever playing like we did today if we shit it against Leicester City next week or every other game we go into.  We have some talent but need the consistency to go with it.   Much improved from Nakamba.  Jack was kept quiet unfortunately.  Not sure why we didn't go two up top for the last 15 though.  We gave it a go.

I can't agree with giving it a go. People said the same about spurs. We created very little except the corner in the second half. We have them all the possession, defended poorly and gifted goals, barely won a header in midfield. Really disappointed about the performance.

We were playing the team who are one of the best in the world at the moment.  Horses for courses.  If we were playing, say, Brighton, then yes, be disappointed, but we were playing Manchester City.  Yes we were poor in places, we have been all season but for this one off game, we were better than I thought we'd be.

[phantom limb]

Fuck me I was miles away and I could see it wasn’t a corner, it’s bad enough playing Man City at the best of times without bullshit like that as well. Add it to the list of VAR-related shite that hasn’t gone for us.

Very disappointed but I think the players gave it their best, which is all you can ask for in the circumstances. Impressed with Samatta’s header, if you give him a chance he's going to put it away. Let’s take that effort and put it into staying up

[LeeB]

That John Stones tho.   

Jammy w**k stain. Typically I was saying how shite he was as he thumped that header in.

What?

Do you need me to type in capitals love?

[Risso]

Ho hum. The much better team won. Usual 20+ shots conceded, and no sign that we’re learning any lessons.

I love you despite your twatish leanings ( I really mean that as well) but bollocks to that.

Had a great day out, we didn't disgrace ourselves, but nor did we ever look remotely like we were going to get anything out of the game. Highlight of the day was hearing that Dave W had mistaken me for Lancsvillan on VT and greeted him with "hello Risso you Tory twat!" I wouldn't mind but he must weigh at least four stone more than me! 😂

[PeterWithesShin]

That John Stones tho.   

Jammy w**k stain. Typically I was saying how shite he was as he thumped that header in.

What?

Do you need me to type in capitals love?

I think he's wondering what header you are on about as Rodri scored the second.

[AV82EC]

Well it wasn’t to be but some positives to take from the game. I thought our discipline and shape meant minimal space for them to play and meant we frustrated them for long periods. Not enough to get an attacking foothold in the game but we can build from that.

Nyland 8 couldn’t do much about the goals and other than the quality save in the 2nd half didn’t have much to do.
Guilbert 7 I thought he dealt with Sterling very well as Sterling was worse than useless, however not seen much as an attacking force.
Engels 7 very solid but lost his marker for the 2nd.
Mings 8 thought he was very good.
Targett 6 caught for the first and got caught ball watching a fair few other times
Nakamba 7 best game in a while, good commitment and energy
Luiz 7 played well I thought, a few misplaced passes but generally better.
Elmo 6 did his job very well, very disciplined and managed to get forward on occasion.
El Ghazi 6 flashes of what he can do but not enough of it again
Samatta 8 living off scraps but fantastic goal and never stopped running and pressing
Grealish 7 not Jacks day but he ran his bollocks off for the team.

Davis, Hourihane, Trez - short cameos not really enough to work with

Smith 6.5 thought he got the Samatta sub wrong but he proved what he can achieve with this squad of players

Fans 10 lovely

Overall I’m disappointed but feel satisfied we gave a good account of ourselves. Onwards....

[CT]

For the "National Stadium", that place is a disgrace. A dangerous pile of shit with fucking cretins for employees. 

From Row 5 of the Upper deck, we seemed to give them a lot of space in dangerous areas. The corner was a joke, but then again, so was the pitiful defending that followed it.

I think we did as well as we could.

..and just like 2015, plenty of fans of the winning team clearly couldn't be bothered to stay and watch their side lift the trophy.

[kippaxvilla2]

Good write up here.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/mar/01/aston-villa-take-seat-at-top-table-but-leave-with-worry-theyll-never-belong

[hilts_coolerking]

Good write up here.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/mar/01/aston-villa-take-seat-at-top-table-but-leave-with-worry-theyll-never-belong

I can't decide whether that's patronising or an accurate summation of where we are.

[kippaxvilla2]

A very fine balance but I think it’s realistic.  Unfortunately.

[manic-road]

Just got back and proud of the team, never known the Villa fans so quiet at Wembley throughout a game. I was happy to see the tactical change that Dean made prior to kick off, and could have snatched a late equaliser.

Now onto the important matches to stay in this league.

[kippaxvilla2]

I thought our fans were great came across really loud on the tv.  Citeh’s were shocking.

[hilts_coolerking]

Just got back and proud of the team, never known the Villa fans so quiet at Wembley throughout a game. I was happy to see the tactical change that Dean made prior to kick off, and could have snatched a late equaliser.

Now onto the important matches to stay in this league.

I wasn't there but based on the TV coverage I saw our fans were deafening.

[Sexual Ealing]

Just got back and proud of the team, never known the Villa fans so quiet at Wembley throughout a game. I was happy to see the tactical change that Dean made prior to kick off, and could have snatched a late equaliser.

Now onto the important matches to stay in this league.

I wasn't there but based on the TV coverage I saw our fans were deafening.

Yep. Very noisy. Wasn't sure whether City were there.