Didn’t we do well last night. The lads rose to the occasion and delivered an absolute masterpiece of a performance, with the result to match. I was blown away.
The atmosphere and the noise generated by the fans is something that only seems to happen on European nights. It’s insane, and I mean that in the best possible way. The Villa faithful were the eleventh man. This was a genuine big-night occasion that will be remembered for a long time.
Nottingham Forest didn’t stand a chance. In fact, I don’t think any club in the world would have stood a chance in that atmosphere. And don’t let people fool you into believing it was simply because Forest played poorly that Villa won.
The Villa players looked inspired. My main men were Super John McGinn, Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins and Victor Lindelof, but honestly, everyone played an absolute blinder.
The manager has been getting stick lately, but he chose a side and a formation with a forward-thinking game plan that suited everyone on the pitch, especially Buendia.
I had been calling for Emiliano Buendia to be dropped to the bench for a while, mainly because I thought he was more effective coming on later in games. But last night made me realise something. Buendia is at his best when Villa are on the front foot, attacking with purpose and intensity. Slow, deliberate football simply does not suit him.
Watkins was colossal. He took a nasty knock to the head that left him with a bad cut, but after being bandaged up, he went and scored a fabulous goal.
Lindelof was fantastic as well. He barely put a foot wrong all night. Emery brought him into the starting line-up alongside Youri Tielemans, and he not only held things together, but also looked to play forward whenever possible. The only thing that frustrated me was seeing him replaced by Bogarde. I was thinking, “Why?”
And then there was Super John McGinn. Two goals, endless energy, and he was not about to take any crap from anyone. Honestly, I could go on and on, but you all saw it yourselves. He was outstanding.
Now, from this point until the end of the season, I want performances like that. Last night we showed everybody what Aston Villa are capable of. I don’t want laboured defensive football, always airing on the side of caution. I want attacking football, because I genuinely believe it suits these players far more.
Finally, well done lads. We were all incredibly proud of you. UTV