Following an unsuccessful tour of the USA in terms of results on the pitch, Villa returned to winning ways tonight with a 3-2 victory over Spanish side Athletic Bilbao.
In the match held at Walsall's Bescot Stadium, Villa fielded a side for the first half that included captain John McGinn, Leon Bailey, Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers to name a few. New signing Amadou Onana was also selected to start. The visitors were without star player Nico Williams following his extended holiday break after Euro 2024 but there was plenty of quality in the Spanish outfit.
Villa got off to a flying start and took the lead after just four minutes. In a move that Villa fans got to witness a number of times last season it was Jacob Ramsey that gave Villa the early advantage. Pau Torres fired a lovely ball into midfield to Morgan Rogers who layed the ball off for Youri Tielemans. Tielemans then played a wonderful through ball for Ramsey to latch onto in behind the Bilbao defence and he slotted the ball with his left foot through the keepers legs.
Bilbao equalised just before the half hour mark through Spanish defender Yeray Alvarez from close range after Villa had failed to clear their lines from a corner. It looks as though the vulnerability when defending set pieces could remain a big issue for Villa going into the new season.
The two teams went into the changing rooms at half time with the score at 1-1. Just after the hour mark, Villa retook the lead through Jaden Philogene. The young winger latched onto a ball down the left hand side of the box and curled it past the keeper into the far bottom corner with his right foot to score his first goal since re-signing for the club this summer. After a number of good moments and near misses to extend the lead Bilbao once again levelled the score through Gorka Guruzeta. The forward put the finishing touches from a cross to again highlight Villa's issue from defending crosses into the penalty area.
With just moments to go, Cameron Archer latched onto an Emi Buendia through ball before rounding the keeper and tucking the ball home. However, the offside flag went up and the game was destined for a draw. Just a minute later though the same scenario was repeated. Buendia played a through ball over the top of Bilbao's high line for Archer to run onto and despite being held back by the defender, he went wide round the keeper and guided the ball home as he was falling off balance to give Villa victory. An impressive second half cameo from Cameron Archer.
Player Ratings
Joe Gauci - 7
Matty Cash - 6
Lamare Bogarde - 7
Pau Torres - 6
Lucas Digne - 6
Amadou Onana - 7
Jacob Ramsey - 8
John McGinn - 7
Leon Bailey - 9
Morgan Rogers - 7
Jaden Philogene - 8
Kosta Nedeljkovic - 7
Ross Barkley - 6
Ian Maatsen - 6
Emi Buendia - 7
Cameron Archer - 8
Samuel Iling-Junior - 6
Leander Dendoncker - 6
Sil Swinkels - 6
Oliwier Zych - 6
Man of the Match: Leon Bailey - Bailey looked very sharp and created a few big chances for Villa in the first half. Caused constant problems for the Bibao defence and looks close to the form he showed consistently last season.
Villa's next and final pre-season fixture is away at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday (16:00 kick off) which you can again see live on Villa TV.
UTV