Needed that. Nuno done his best to prevent it by persisting with Fatty for too long but we missed some big chances to kill it off. Son brilliant and MOTM, though Reguilon and Emerson can also be very proud of their performances. Kane also much more involved with play.
Should have run away with it really, didn't think much of Villa. Still, a much needed 3pts. Nuno starting his bid for October manager of the month well
Someone splattered Lo Celso just before Kane shot, but the ref didn't go back and book him (unlike when Romero was booked). Still not sure about that "tackle" on Emerson in the first half, but nobody seemed to be interested in VAR. Also thought their goal was probably onside but surprised nobody even bothered to check. Also wondered why they bothered to give our second as an OG. It's not conclusive so why didn't they just leave it with Lucas? In fact I think it's his goal anyway.
Lots to improve on still but that was night and day compared to pretty much every game we’ve played this season. We looked much more balanced with the double pivot and Kane got into the game much more, even if he had a couple of chances that by his high standards you’d expect him to score. Hopefully Nuno has now found his formula and we can build on this. Frustrating to have an international break now when we could be building momentum on the training ground though.
Seven games of general dirge, yet only 4-5 pts off PL top. Emerson was good today. CM, in both attack (the non-service to Kane) , and defence (cannot hold onto the ball etc) is still the big concern. NDombele should now be at the very least mid-week starting XI material. GLC and/or Gil must be given their opportunities to front up in a PL starting XI.
Just to add more on this, I’d really like to see us tap into Reguilon and Emerson’s attacking game more. Both were brilliant defensively and both got up nicely as well, especially the Brazilian, but I felt we didn’t always get them the ball in the right moments. Need to find a way to utilise them like we did with Rose and Walker as they’re both very much in that mould.
Finally, a balanced line-up where everyone understood what their role was and everyone, bar Ndombele, put in a shift. Now, don't ****ing tinker with it and let this line-up gel as a unit...please?
You can only play what’s in front of you, but Villa we’re really poor today. we need to see that line up a few more times against different opposition to really judge what this “best XI” has got in them. Promising, though.
No Dele slowing play down or losing possession too. Glad Nuno saw some sense there. Lo Celso and Gil should be starting over Ndombele and Lucas for me though. I’d say that then makes our strongest XI based on what we have. I’d still like a new creative player though to play in place of Ndombele/ Lo Celso but for right now I’d lean more towards the Argentinian, neither are great but the latter at least doesn’t gas himself out after 35 minutes. The former has more talent but doesn’t utilise it, get rid ASAP.
With Lo Celso and Ndombele we could maybe play 45 minutes of each? Let Ndombele run himself out in the first half and Lo Celso to shore things up in the second half.
Based on that display, Emerson is a significant upgrade on Aurier. He's a real fighter which is a rarity for a Brazilian defender. Reguilon needs to play like that every game. Kane looks like he just needs that one goal and the floodgates will open. Tanguy was shockingly bad. Lucas at least competes and makes a general nuisance of himself, but the frenchman contributed almost zilch. I think dropping Dele was the right decision and we looked far more balanced as a result, but I'd rather see Lo Celso given a chance and use Tanguy as an impact sub. Much needed win and yes the next international break is annoying but we have 3 away games back to back - travelling to the Toon then Arnhem then the HMRC Arena in the space of a week, so I think a breather will be useful, especially if Bergwijn, Davies and Sess are available for selection in 2 weeks time.