Aston Villa 2-2 Sheffield United: Thoughts on the performance

There was a strong turnout at Villa Park yesterday evening, as 35,000 committed fans turned up to see their sides battle out the league’s final fixture before Christmas.

It would be safe to say they got their money’s worth in the first half alone, with all four goals coming before the half-hour mark. An early penalty won by Keinan Davis and converted by Albert Adomah saw Villa quickly go 1-0 up, whilst Mile Jedinak’s towering header a mere 5 minutes later doubled the home side’s lead. However, pre-Christmas celebrations by the Villa faithful were cut cruelly short, as ex-Birmingham man Clayton Donaldson’s quickfire brace had squared proceedings with just 26 minutes on the clock.

That proved to be the final goal-scoring action of the game, leaving Villa’s players and fans scratching their heads at full time, wondering how they managed to squander a 2-goal advantage. Indeed, such a performance highlights a myriad of areas for discussion, so here is my take on the realities of yesterday’s performance.