Aston Villa record first win without Benteke

Christian Benteke

It was a tough Saturday for Manchester as both the city clubs bowed down to some late charge by the league’s bottom half teams.

It was a first win for Aston Villa without their star striker Christian Benteke. Ever since the Belgian arrived at Villa Park, Aston Villa have not won a single game at home without him. Saturday’s victory over Manchester City was Villa’s first win without Benteke. The striker got injured in a fantastic win for Villa at Norwich.

A spirited Villa came back twice, and then snatched the winner through Andy Weimann. Manchester City dominated the first half , retaining majority of the possession but they didn’t trouble Villa keeper Brad Guzan. City was not able to penetrate the Villa defence until a corner late in the first half saw Yaya Toure score his 4th goal of the season.

Villa initially started with a three-man defence in skipper Ron Vlaar, Nathan Baker and Mathew Lowton. But wing backs Bacuna and Luna were always back defending, giving an impression of a 5-man defence lineup, such was the pressure from City in the first half. Villa forward Libor Kozak, a recent acquisition from Serie A side Lazio, was left stranded in the City half with no help from Villa’s midfield.

The second half was where the drama took place. Villa equalized early in the second half through midfielder El Ahmadi and immediately Edin Dzeko restored parity. Villa started to move the ball round the park pretty well in the second half. A silly foul by Nastasic on Kozak gave Villa a free kick around 30 yards from goal.

Instead of the long range free kick expert Vlaar, winger Bacuna stepped up and curled his shot into the net past Joe Hart. The free kick was so sublime that Joe Hart didn’t move at all. And what was to follow was a crazy goal. Guzan’s goal kick evaded the City midfield, and Kompany and Nastasic made a mess of themselves handing Andy Weimann a clear run on goal as Joe Hart haplessly charged forward. It was a wonderful win for Aston Villa and an unexpected one.

Villa’s fear of their opposition was understood after City ripping United apart. But the big spending title contenders were brought down to earth with an amazing display of grit and hope.

Villa were without Christian Benteke and Gabi Agbonlahor and that prompted Paul Lambert to change his tactics. Playing three centre-backs and two wing backs is not his style.

City now have to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League group game and they better leave their last league outing behind and start afresh. For Villa, it was refreshing to see them win without their star striker Benteke.