TREZEGUET’S VOLLEY SENDS VILLA TO FINAL
ON a fevered night in the second city, aston Villa surged to Wembley. anyone in doubt as to the value of the English cup competitions should have been here.
Becalmed and befuddled in the Premier League, Dean Smith’s Villa were resolute, energetic and, crucially, clinical to see off Midlands rivals who were odds- on with bookmakers to make the final before this match began.
This was a thrilling game, illuminated by individual performances of the highest quality. If Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland plays like he did here in the final then Manchester City — if that is who it is — will need to come with everything they have. If Jack Grealish plays like this, Gareth Southgate will not be able to ignore him much longer.
That is before we consider members of the beaten team, players such as James Maddison and Harvey Barnes. Both were excellent, driving their team on after they had fallen behind early on.
at the death it was Villa’s night, but it could have gone either way. Trezeguet’s winning goal — in the third minute of added time — was greeted like a lottery win.
The full-time whistle prompted a pitch invasion. It was unnecessary but entirely understandable. This has been a season of sobering struggle in the league for Villa but here was a night to escape all that, one to lose yourself in a beautiful winter’s evening of winner-takes all football. It was sport in its purest, most vital form and by the end Leicester’s players were brought to their knees by the sheer disappointment of failure.
It was a perfect advert for the competition and also for knockout football as a whole. We know all about the arguments for teams fielding weakened teams. Both managers here had done exactly that in the early rounds. But by the time we reach this stage, it is hard not to see the attractiveness of what is at stake.
Early on, after a first leg drawn 1-1, Leicester seemed intent on finishing things early. Brendan Rodgers’ team are Premier League heavyweights these days and they came out swinging hard.
Five times in the opening 10 minutes they delivered shots on goal. Nyland, a 29-year-old Norwegian, is far enough down the Villa pecking order that he could be described as fourth choice. But he saved from Kelechi Iheanacho at his near post in the third minute and then twice from Maddison.
at that point, he was the only thing keeping his team in it. Villa were treading water but — out of nothing — swam against the tide to score in the 12th minute. It was a superb breakaway goal.
Right wing back Frederic Guilbert won a duel just inside his half and when the ball broke to Douglas Luiz, Villa were away. Luiz fed Grealish down the left and when the Villa captain turned inside in the penalty area, it looked as though the chance may be lost.
But Grealish has such good vision and his reverse pass to the left bounced up perfectly for the arriving Matt Targett and he smashed a shot first time across Kasper Schmeichel and into the far corner.
It was the first cup goal of the 24-year-old’s career and Villa Park erupted. The goal was as special as it was unexpected and for a while Leicester did not respond.
Indeed the next meaningful effort came from the home team’s anwar El Ghazi, a free-kick that just passed over the bar. Soon enough, Leicester did find their earlier gusto and when Nyland touched a
Youri Tielemans shot brilliantly on to the bar, the ball was recycled for Maddison to drive an effort against Marvelous Nkamba’s raised arm. Strangely, referee Mike Dean and then the VaR official saw no infringement.
Villa, as well as they were playing, looked as though they may need another goal.
Twice, once in either half, new signing Mbwana Samatta fluffed glorious chances set up by Grealish. Both looked simple but one he miskicked and the other he made no contact with at all.
When he was substituted after 65 minutes, the Tanzania striker looked distraught. He had endured a dreadful debut, a night when the unremitting ferocity of the night proved too much for him. To make matters worse, Leicester were level within six minutes.
Rodgers’ team had never been quite as potent as they were early on but Maddison and Barnes ensured they continued to carry a
threat. When Barnes crossed low from the left at the Holte End, Iheanacho buried his eighth goal in 13 games from six yards.
Villa had been close to the finish line. Had Samatta been anywhere near proficient, they would have been at Wembley already. Instead, a penalty shootout now looked their best bet of saving their evening.
Still the game ebbed and flowed. Maddison shot high and wide of the near post and then Trezeguet shot weakly when played clear by Keinan Davis.
But Trezeguet’s moment was still to come. With 92 minutes played, Ahmed Elmohamady swung in a deep cross from the right, Leicester’s defenders lost track of their opponent and Trezeguet volleyed the winner across goal and into the corner with a technical proficiency totally in keeping with the nature of the evening.
What a goal, what a finale, what an evening. Tonight’s meeting of the Manchester giants has much to live up to.