Aston Villa capped off their midseason training camp in Spain with a 3-1 friendly victory over Sevilla, coming back from 1-0 down during an eventful second half to secure the win.
Here are five takeaways from a successful night for Villa:
Garnacho makes a statement
By far the biggest positive from Friday night’s game was Alejandro Garnacho showing real signs of progress during his first extended action since the preseason.
Garnacho was lively from the start and most of Villa’s attacks went through him, particularly in the first half. He started on the right side, which was interesting as he has traditionally played off the left.
Perhaps it was out of necessity as John McGinn and Ibrahim Mbaye were away with their national teams, leaving Unai Emery short of options on the right. Emery may simply have decided Garnacho made more sense on the right than George Hemmings, who started on the left.
However, Mbaye is a naturally right-footed player like Garnacho and has played mostly on the right for Villa so far, so perhaps the Argentine is a legitimate option on that side.
The time on the training pitch seems to have paid off as Garnacho looked more sharp and confident than in any previous appearance for Villa.
He brought out the stepovers to beat defenders, was direct and linked well with teammates, playing one-twos to get behind the Sevilla defense, playing Lamare Bogarde through with a backheeled pass and also drifted in from the right into central areas, causing problems from there.
Garnacho consistently got to the byline and pulled the ball back into the penalty area, which Emery would have been pleased to see. He was unfortunate his teammates did not get on the end of his cutbacks.
In the second half he came close with several shots from the edge of the penalty area, and eventually got his goal after switching to the left in the final 25 minutes, finishing at the back post to put Villa in front. It was much-deserved for his overall performance.
There are still things to clean up. His first touch let him down a lot and meant he lost the ball or could not set up to take a defender on, having to pass backwards instead. Some of Sevilla’s more promising attacks came after he lost a challenge or switched off defensively.
Still, it was a massive step in the right direction for Garnacho and should serve as a confidence-builder for him, Emery and the fans who were justifiably nervous after his slow start to life at Villa.
New faces impress
Due to Matteo Ruggeri being away with Italy and Ian Maatsen’s injury, 18-year-old Rodrigo Fortes got the start at left-back, with fellow 18-year-old Teddie Bloomfield taking over in the second half.
That represented a big opportunity for two young players to show Emery what they can do, and neither of them did themselves any harm in that regard.
Fortes, who is Portuguese, joined Villa as an Under-9 and signed his first professional contract in 2024. He got beat a couple of times down the left but generally defended pretty well in one-on-one situations and was often in the right place to make important blocks in the penalty area.
Bloomfield, who joined Villa from Ipswich in 2022 and signed his first pro contract in November of last year, had a solid second-half. Further up the pitch, it was Max Jenner who grabbed the headlines, scoring Villa’s third goal of the night to wrap up the victory.
The 18-year-old came on as a number ten in the last 15 minutes and took his goal brilliantly. He controlled a pass that was coming in hot with a defender flashing in front of it, dropped his shoulder to beat an opponent, opened up his body and slotted in with his left foot at the near post.
He scored against Crewe in the Football League Trophy last month and will have made a real impression with the goal he scored versus Sevilla.
Villa’s high line caught out
The high line was in use for Villa on Friday night and mostly went smoothly, but there was a breakdown in their offside line for Sevilla’s goal. None of the back four were in line with each other, Taylor Harwood-Bellis misjudged a long ball and Aaron Wan-Bissaka kept an attacker onside.
Harwood-Bellis atoned by blocking the initial shot but was unfortunate as it ricocheted to Isaac Romero who fired home past Marco Bizot.
In general though, it was an encouraging showing from Harwood-Bellis, particularly in possession, as he picked out Garnacho over the top on a couple of occasions. It is important he continues to stack strong performances to earn Emery’s trust, and Friday night will have helped.
Young wingers show their quality
Hemmings was quiet in the first half as most of Villa’s attacks went down the right, but he did create a quality chance for Tammy Abraham by winning a tackle, then trapping a difficult pass which was slightly behind him, setting off running and feeding Abraham with a well-weighted pass.
The young winger had several shots saved in the second half before being withdrawn for Alysson, who staked his claim for more playing time by supplying the assist for Garnacho’s goal.
Villa’s options in wide areas are starting to look pretty appealing, with plenty of competition for places.
Two injured players return, but one notable absence
It was great to see Pau Torres and Brian Madjo get back on the pitch as both previously injured players played the second half, however, Leon Goretzka was not even on the bench, indicating he is still working his way back from a knee issue.
Based on the fact he did not play on Friday, it is fair to assume Goretzka did not participate in the recent behind-closed-doors friendly against Southampton.
The expectation was never set that the German midfielder would be able to play in either game, but it would have been nice for him to finally get some live action with his teammates if his recovery had progressed enough. Alas, the wait goes on to see him in claret and blue.
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