Villa could be in a lot of trouble…
Aston Villa had the chance to move out of the relegation zone last night with a win against Leicester. But after losing 4-0, they remain in 19th place in the league with a lot of tough fixtures to come.
Villa do have a game in hand on the other relegation strugglers, but in their next four matches they will face; Chelsea, Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester United, who are all in the top six.
Dean Smith has arrived for his post-match press conference…
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 9, 2020
“Disappointing is an understatement, we wanted a performance and a reaction from the cup final.”#LEIAVL #AVFC pic.twitter.com/eGPGafel2v
The result was certainly not the response from the cup final defeat to Manchester City that the fans were desperate for and they need to turn things around quickly with incredibly tough fixtures coming up.
Gareth Southgate needs to get Jamie Vardy back into international football
After being sidelined through injury, Jamie Vardy made his comeback to the Premier League last night in typical Vardy style, smashing a penalty in and scoring a clinical second on the half volley.
With England’s current lack of attacking options for the summer, with Harry Kane only just returning to light training, Southgate needs to be on the phone to Vardy and try everything he can to get the 34-year-old back amongst the squad for the Euros.
Leicester embark on returning to Champions League football
With Chelsea and Manchester United winning on the weekend, it was vital that Leicester were ruthless against Villa to keep getting points on the board.
The win now means that the Foxes are eight points ahead of United in fifth place, edging them closer to Champions League football.
Brendan Rodgers’ side need to string a few more performances together like last night and they will be all but confirmed to play in the Champions League again next season.
Stop the debate. James Maddison and Jack Grealish both deserve a place in the England squad
It is rare that after being on the side of a team that has just lost 4-0, that you are left wondering why Grealish has not had a call up for the England squad.
But the 24-year-old was the only positive from Villa’s performance last night as he carried the ball well, won free kicks in dangerous positions and was able to dictate the tempo at times.
And despite the debates circulating between who is the better number 10, Maddison and Grealish both need to be in the squad for England in the summer, because they can be used in different areas of the pitch.
Grealish is able to pick up the ball deep and move forwards, whilst Maddison is great playing behind the striker as he showed yesterday, being pivotal in the build up for Leicester’s goals.
So Southgate please, take them both.
Another promising English full back is breaking onto the scene
With Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Ben Chilwell and Max Aarons all breaking onto the Premier League scene in recent years, there was another last night as James Justin had a great game playing left back.
The 22-year old has been struggling for game time with Chillwell playing ahead of him. But last night, Justin showed great pace, strength and composure in the final third, which from a youthful full back is very promising.
