Aston Villa registered their first win in the Premier League this season after an eye-catching display against Everton at Villa Park. It is still early days, but Smith must have been feeling a bit nervy after remaining pointless after the first two games.
However, Villa stuck to their plans, and their excellent performance was converted into points in the third game of the season. Even against Tottenham, they fought hard and came close to escaping with something. In the Bournemouth tie, they played like a top-half team, but they failed to wipe out Bournemouth’s two early goals. However, they did show in that game that they are here to impose their style as they had 22 attempts on goal and managed 63 percent possession.
The first win is always essential, and Smith will be glad to have that monkey off his back. Here is why we think that the Birmingham based outfit can go on an impressive run after this.
Most of the new signings have shown promising signs
One of the major concerns from the detractors was that Villa might follow the suit of Fulham who invested heavily but still ended up getting relegated. However, we think that Smith has gone about his business smartly instead of making random acquisitions. Jota, Trezeguet, Guilbert, Engels, Luiz and Moraes have looked like they can compete in the Premier League.
The performance of Moraes was especially a crucial one for Smith as he is the main striker for Villa and if he wouldn’t have adapted soon, then the team could have struggled for goals. The Brazilian came up with a complete performance against the Toffees and showed that he could do everything which a manager would need from his striker.
He drastically improved his hold up play after the first two games and his movement was sharp in the final third. The fact that he can drop in deep and involved his team-mates and made runs between the channels make him a perfect mix.
They don’t seem to be dependent on one or two main players.
Another beauty of Smith’s team so far is that they have played as a team and they don’t seem to be overly relying on just a few individuals. Almost everyone has chipped in, and as mentioned, all the new signings have already caught the eye just after the few games. In all the positions, they look sorted, and they are willing to play an expansive brand of football even though one wouldn’t usually associate that with newly-promoted teams.
In the next five Premier League games, Arsenal are the only considerably tough opponents they are going to come up against. They will play Palace, West Ham, Norwich and Burnley and this could be the time for them to push on and one could see them going on a winning run.
