Aston Villa made it three wins from four matches under recently-appointed manager Steven Gerrard with a positive 2-1 result over Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
Ezri Konsa’s brace–with goals coming on both sides of halftime–powered the Villans past their Midlands rivals and into 10th place in the Premier League standings.
At the time of Gerrard’s appointment, Villa was 16th in the top flight with 10 points from 11 matches. Saturday’s win caps off an opening stretch of four matches through which Villa have collected three victories and one defeat at the hands of champions Manchester City.
Here are the positives to take from Saturday’s impressive come-from-behind win.
Goals off free kicks
The addition of Austin MacPhee to the Villa backroom staff this past summer paid dividends early in the season with several goals coming off of set pieces.
That avenue for goals dried up during the five-game losing streak that spelled the end of Dean Smith’s time at the club, but since Gerrard’s introduction, and most notably on Saturday, Villa are again a threat from dead-ball situations.
From a free kick on the left side in the 17th minute, Douglas Luiz played a long ball into the Leicester box that, after some chaotic posturing, found the head of Emi Buendia, who directed a shot toward goal that was deflected by Konsa.
Konsa’s second goal came in the 54th minute when he beat Kasper Schmeichel from a tight angle with a header at the far post. John McGinn took the corner with his left foot.
Villa’s goals in recent matches against Manchester City and Crystal Palace also came via corners, and as much as Gerrard will not want his side to rely on set pieces for goals, it’s good to see them take advantage of recent opportunities.
Win from a losing position
Villa took all three points on Saturday after falling behind–something they’ve struggled to do in recent years.
In 2020-21, Villa ranked 14th in the Premier League in points rescued from losing position with eight from 19 deficits.
Under Smith this season, Villa secured just one point from eight deficits and would have been last in the league in the category had they not come away with three points on Saturday.
Villa rebounded from Leister’s 14th-minute tally with a 17th-minute goal of their own, which spring boarded Gerrard’s side to a come-from-behind win.
The comeback is emblematic of a culture change at the club. It’s early days, but at the moment, it feels like Villa can win any match they play in, no matter if they fall behind or not.
Matty Cash thriving under Gerrard
Before his formal appointment, reports suggested Gerrard would demand a lot from his full-backs at Aston Villa. On both the left and right sides, we’ve seen outside defenders pushing high and providing service from the flanks.
Congratulations to our very own Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa who have both been included in @WhoScored Premier League Team of the Week 👏🏻
— Aston Villa News (@AVFC_News) December 7, 2021
Well played, lads! @mattycash622 @EzriKonsa 💪🏻#AVFC pic.twitter.com/JkjJvFTGY2
Matt Targett’s fortunes have reversed under Gerrard after a torrid start to the season, but Matty Cash has been sublime.
In addition to barreling down the right-handed channels to create from wide spaces, Cash on Saturday was credited with nine tackles–the most by any player in a single Premier League game this season—four Interceptions, three clearances, and 10 won duels.
The Polish international factored into WhoScored’s Premier League Team of the Week with an 8.64 match rating and was fourth on the team in expected goals (xG) with a 0.22 rating.
More to come from Cashy, who, in short order, has glistened under Gerrard’s tutelage.