When I saw the Villa line up, I was surprised as I'd not really heard much about Barry Bannan or Martin Hogg. They were up against the experienced pairing of Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick, and outworked and outplayed them for most of the game. Like most people I was hoping they were English unfortunately only one of the pair is. Bannan is a Scotsman and a very impressive one, he has an eye for a pass which is very useful if you have aggressive forward thinking wide players like Marc Albrighton and Stewart Downing. Hogg is a ball winning energetic midfielder who is hungry for success after suffering a serious knee injury not too long ago. With the pace of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Luke Young, this Villa side look like a very handy side on the break.
Downing was looking very dangerous and gave Wes Brown a torrid time, he looks a different player to last season when he really struggled to make an impact. I've seen Albrighton play before in the Europa league where he looked very impressive showing pace, skills and also crossing ability. The way the national team is currently performing these two should be serious contenders for places in Capello's squad.
We all know what Young and Agbonlahor are about, Young with his dribbling and trickery and Agbonlahor with his lightning pace. Young won and converted a penalty and Agbonlahor did a good job of stretching Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic who had to constantly watch the space behind them.
Villa hit the woodwork a number of times and got forward with pace and in numbers Manchester United couldn't handle. This game should've been over before Federico Macheda's goal which swung the flow of the game in Manchester United's favour, maybe a more experienced side may have been able to close the game out. I feel that with the right guidance this Villa young team could be a real threat to opponents and a blessing for the national team.
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