The day could’ve started brightly for Aston Villa, but in the end, Benteke’s early penalty failure set the tone for a day when squandered early chances ultimately sealed Villa’s fate.
I missed the pivotal chunk of the game (thanks NBC) when Everton wrested control with Lukaku’s goal in the 68th minute. I did get to see Osman’s off the short corner, and one could see Everton’s confidence as they closed the game out. Martinez has got a good thing going.
I saw things I liked, and then some I didn’t down the stretch, but with Everton under the cosh when Lukaku came through, I didn’t expect the game to turn the way it did. Tim Howard had a lot to do with it, obviously, and Brad Guzan made a couple vital interventions. I figured at least a draw was on the cards.
So, a disappointing day in the end, although the stats would seem to have pointed toward a more encouraging outing: 14-15 on attempts, 3-4 on target, 8-6 on corners, 47%-53% possession.
What struck me, and what I think ended up being Villa’s downfall, was a lack of quality on the ball. Heavy touches, poorly weighted passes, balls not taken cleanly, things just not quite coming off.
Now a critical stretch lies ahead of Villa who will try to shake this one off and find a little more composure in a series of games where they’ll be expecting, and needing, results.
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