aston villa 1 v 2 liverpool

Unbelievable!!

Villa score twenty minutes in when Egyptian winger, Trézéguet, gets on the end of a John McGinn free-kick and volleys into the Liverpool goal from five yards out.  We look sharp, dangerous and determined.

VAR denies Liverpool an early equaliser, ruling Roberto Firmino off-side by dint of an armpit. And so Villa make it safely to half-time, their lead intact.  

More heroics follow in the second half with Villa pinned back by increasingly menacing Liverpool attacks. They even manage to create some scoring opportunities themselves on the break.

There's just three minutes left when the inexorable onslaught results in Liverpool drawing level. Sadio Mané crosses for Andy Robertson to head in. There's worse to come. In the very last minute of stoppage time it's Mané's turn to head into the Villa goal, this time from a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner.

So Villa come away from the game with heads held high, having almost managed to inflict the first defeat of the season on the Premiership leaders.

aston villa 2 v 1 wolverhampton wanderers

It's a brisk Autumn evening at Villa Park. We're here for a mid-week game in the Carabao Cup, a trophy we've won five times in the past in its former guise as the League Cup.

The opposition are Wolverhampton Wanderers. Under Portugese coach, Nuno Espírito Santo, they enjoyed a fantastic first season back in the Premiership last year. Deservedly, they secured a place in the Europa League.  This has, however, stretched their small squad rather thinly - they've already played some twenty games to date in their current campaign.  Accordingly, it comes as a little surprise when Nuno puts out a team comprised almost entirely of youngsters and fringe players.

Whilst Villa see out the game comfortably with goals from our two Egyptians, Anwar El Ghazi and Ahmed Elmohamady it was hardly a classic of modern-day football. Still, the win secures a place in the quarter finals and a match-up with Liverpool some time in the new year.