Aston Villa’s international break produced progress on several fronts and raised a few new questions, and this catch-up takes stock before a full main show lands ahead of Brentford at Villa Park. The main event was a 3-1 friendly win at Sevilla in the Antonio Puerta Memorial Trophy, played in honour of the Sevilla midfielder who died in 2007, which also doubled up as a tribute to Unai Emery’s three straight Europa League wins with the host club.
The friendly kept Villa’s momentum going in terms of their midweek Champions League commitments, mimicking the travel arrangements. On the pitch it was also a very useful exercise, with Villa able to play with a strong midfield pairing of João Gomes and Boubacar Kamara, and give Pau Torres and Brian Madjo their first action after their injuries.
Alejandro Garnacho also got a proper run out and added to the winner he scored in Villa’s earlier international break friendly against Southampton, while both Ross Barkley and Max Jenner added goals with emphatic finishes.
Meanwhile, Leon Goretzka remains a ghost-like figure in terms of the Villa set-up: he has trained with the group but hasn’t played with his teammates yet in any friendlies, and Emery has stated the Brentford game comes too early for him.
In the latest My Old Man Said podcast catch-up episode, as well as looking back at the Sevilla game, we look at the question of Zion Suzuki and the Asian Cup, with the Japanese international potentially missing eight games in the new year, if Japan do well in the tournament in Saudi Arabia.
The second half of the catch-up turns to Manchester City, found guilty of all charges by an independent Commission and now appealing. It covers what the verdict means for Villa in practice, why punishment that only arrives retrospectively can’t repair a decade, and why Villa’s own history means the grievance might have a ceiling in terms of the direct damage it did to the club.
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eon Goretzka Aston Villa free transfer
eon Goretzka Aston Villa free transfer