Twenty-five games into the season, Aston Villa finally have what they have been craving since August. Call it an early Christmas present, if you will.
Injuries had prevented Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara from starting together since the former’s arrival in the summer, meaning Villa fans had to wait to witness what was probably going to be Unai Emery’s first-choice defensive midfield partnership.
To call it worth the wait defies the patchy run Villa have been on, but against Manchester City it was evident a fit Onana and Kamara can provide the solid foundations for the second half of their season.
That will be necessary, with the Champions League knockouts coinciding with a push to qualify for Europe again, as will Youri Tielemans carrying on with how he started in this more attacking role.
Though it could have gone to Morgan Rogers, Tielemans beamed when holding the trophy for player of the match after full-time, with his first-half pass for Jhon Duran’s opener the highlight of a superb all-round display from the Belgian.
With Kamara and Onana behind Tielemans, this trio is one Emery will be reluctant to change, and he may only do so going forward if injuries hit.
Add to that Rogers on the left, John McGinn on the right, and Villa were finally starting their strongest midfield five, making for a plan coming to fruition that had been five months in the making.
“It was the plan when we signed Onana,” Emery said, who reflected on Kamara’s injury in the second half of last season, the midfielder missing their last 14 league games on 2023-24.
“The second plan was to try to play with both players [Kamara and Onana] understanding the other’s style. It was the first practice, last week we did 20 minutes, and then today we repeated, with Tielemans higher than normal. It was a very good test.”
Kamara’s knee injury had also seen him miss the opening eight league and two Champions League games this season, and after picking up minutes in a handful of games thereafter, he has gone on to start their last eight games.
With Kamara in the XI, Villa are simply an improved side: more solid, better balanced. They have now won three of their last four league games – following a five-game winless run – and against City he won the most duels (seven) and made the most tackles (six).
That is what Villa had so badly missed for the majority of this year, but it brings promise of a brighter 2025 – one that replicates their 2023, when they were only behind City in the calendar-year table.
This is an extract of The Score. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every Monday morning this season for our verdict on all 20 Premier League clubs