Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Wolves

[sheepyvillian]

I love to see a team the way we looked in that final 20 minutes, just oozing with confidence and playing with aplomb!

[avfc1982am]

I gave my MOTM to captain chaos. Thought the first 4 subs changed the game, freeing up space for Rodgers and Tielemans to get into the game more and giving us that much needed width. Special mention to Barkley who added some much needed composure into the midfield. 

I do think we were far too narrow in the first half so glad we changed it up quick. 

[East London Villa]

Another win from behind, another goal for Duran. Lovely stuff.

We were so poor first half, thankfully the subs perked us up and a few players found another gear. Barkley made a big difference.

That's the team we have now. We can be off our game but we still have the confidence and the varied attacking quality to get the goals we need.

Hope McGinn's injury isn't bad - he hasn't been great but we don't want to lose him going into a period of serious fixture congestion.

[479Villan]

Whoever said McGinn's injury was a blessing in disguise was correct. Daylight started to open at the start of half, amplified when Duran comes on, and Barkley finally completely unlaces them to allow Tielemans to do his work.

[UpTheVilla26]

I'm still struggling to shake off the fact, the old Villa lose that game. 

1st half I thought we were very poor. 

2nd half, as soon as Ollie levelled, you just knew we'd do them.

I love this team 🩵

[TomC]

Villa 3 Diego Carlos 1 LOL

--A sure mark that we’re a top team now: we can play poorly, concede a lead, and still win.

--MOTM: Laugh if you like, but I’m giving it to Onana. When Wolves were on top, he broke up a lot of their play and kept things from getting worse, enabling the comeback.

--McGinn was also good before being subbed.

--Duran’s recovery tackle set up the first goal. It’s a sign that he’s maturing when he’s starting to do the little things. Between that and the goal, he was another candidate for MOTM.

--I don’t understand why Unai started 10 of the same players as against Young Boys. Fatigue clearly contributed to our poor start. Rogers, JJ, Digne looked off their best…even Tielemans was misplacing more passes than usual. (Yes, Rogers found his second wind and redeemed himself with the assists at the end, but he didn’t look like he belonged out there for the first hour.) I think that Unai realized his mistake; you rarely see him make 4 subs in the first 60 minutes. And of course, once he got some fresh legs out there, we won.

--We should have solved the right back problem in the offseason. If Konsa were playing CB, the Wolves goal would have never happened. If Ned and Bogarde aren’t ready, they should have brought someone else in. And even if they didn’t want/couldn’t afford to spend the big cash, they could have brought in a veteran like Ashley Young a few years ago (not Ashley himself!) to cover for Cash.

--I like how Unai saved the offside trap for late in the match.

 

[UpTheVilla26]

6 minutes ago, 479Villan said:

Reposting this man because I love him.

Me and my lad were loving him. 

I swear he was in Eastenders though

[Rightdm00]

Business as usual. Go down early, who cares. Nick it by one goal in the end, hell no. We dominate matches. Demand teams bunker down in hopes of winning 1-0. Just truly amazing play, never thought I would witness Villa boss matches like this. Absolutely love it. 

[479Villan]

3 goals won every game, 1-1 in every draw.

That's me putting a bet on scoreless draw for the late game. FADE MEEEEEEEE

[useless]

People were well within reason to express that we were extremely poor first half, it wasn't just a little below par, we made it extremely easy for them, if we'd have played a first half like that against a better team the game could have been over before the interval.

It actually the makes the fact that we came back and won even more impressive, as not only did we come back in terms of the scoreline, but turned our performance around, which I don't think is easy to come back from as poor as we was, but we did it and in doing so turned into one of the most impressive result of the season bearing in mind the circumstances

 

[Raymond]

Obviously very happy with the second half, but we have to stop giving away these dumb goals. 

[remotevillan]

My God. What a bench we have! And to think Cash, Kamara and Mings still to come back

[rjw63]

Must admit I was worried at 0-1 (for worried, read apoplectic).

But once again we showed our grit.

that's how to stick it up the

-ers

[479Villan]

Just now, rjw63 said:

Must admit I was worried at 0-1 (for worried, read apoplectic).

But once again we showed our grit.

that's how to stick it up the

-ers

You turned it off at 0-1. Your penance is to call WM Football Phone In this week.

[Pinebro]

We love a comeback

Squad depth won us this game

Wolves couldn't cope

[srsmithusa]

MOTM candidates

Emi saved a couple headers off corners early, not spectacular, but open headers were stopped and if they had not been.....

Ezri, playing in his second best position, was solid in defense and scored the match winner with a brilliant adjustment in mid air.

Onana, broke up a bunch of their play in the first half when nobody else seemed to be up to speed.

Tielemanns, solid and safe but for me, he tried a few too many easy rolls in the attacking third that gave up possession

Barkley, safe, solid, changed the tempo in midfield by safe possession under pressure and nice passes to outlets

Maatson, was really impressed with him defensively, he didn't put a foot wrong and he still gave an attacking outlet on the wing.

Duran, did chaos things,  his aggressive recovery of a poor touch led to the first goal.  and of course, he scored the safety bonus goal

Watkins, robbed of service early but neatly finished, he kept their two CB's tied up all match

Rogers, bullied out of any impact in the first half but kept battling and ended up with 2 assists.

I went with EZRI only becuase his contribution was consistent over the entire match, both halves, most other contenders were noticeable in the second half only.

Love to see the Unai turned it around to create a fighting mentality, but he needs to work with the team to create that fighting mentality from the first minute.  regardless of fixture congestion.  

[rjw63]

2 minutes ago, 479Villan said:

You turned it off at 0-1. Your penance is to call WM Football Phone In this week.

I wouldn't be able to stop laughing

[479Villan]

Just now, rjw63 said:

I wouldn't be able to stop laughing

That's part of our joy. You post when you're calling in, we all get to listen and see how long you can hold it together.

[foreveryoung]

Just had to chuckle to myself, thinking back of the previous managers (Gerrard), who would have sat back at 1-1 and took it as a great result against our local rivals. 

[srsmithusa]

like everyone else, I'm delighted with the match, but I don't understand why Unai doesn't seem to trust Ned at R back.  I would much rather have him there and keep Carlos off the pitch.  Some have suggested that Unai is planning to play Kamara at R back and that may be, but Ned is a much better option in the meantime to Bogarde or Carlos at CB.   Makes me wonder whether Unai sees a weakness I don't, or whether he has an alternative plan for Ned that I haven't.