Villa’s summer tour in America came to a close with another 3-3 draw, this time against Brentford. Good game for the neutrals, and a lot of hard minutes out there. So, three PL-level games and five points out of nine against Newcastle, Fulham and Brentford. Not the worst return from training, and Emery seems upbeat enough about it all.
Villa got off to a fast start with goals from Ollie and Buendia (deservedly MOTM) to glide ahead 2-0 inside of 12 minutes. But unlike league performances under Emery, it didn’t turn out to be a lead Villa could hold. There was a bit of sloppiness, bits of luck good and bad, and the usual attacks on the high line. But there was plenty to like, especially going forward.
Staring down the threat of a relegation battle, the owners took decisive action in October and replaced Steven Gerrard with Unai Emery. He rewarded them with a top-half finish—and maybe more.
No real changes today, but welcome faces await on the bench. A result gives Villa a top-10 finish for the first time in over a decade. A win, and Europe remains distinctly possible. It’s all to play for, as they say.
Wolves and Europe, yes. But perhaps the even bigger talking point is that Villa look set to land Mateu Alemany from Barcelona, and the press is wild with links to all sorts of players and lavish spending. No one in this side is safe even if they already speak Spanish. They should have something to prove today.
