El Ghazi started just his fifth Championship match for Villa on Saturday evening.
Anwar El Ghazi started just his fifth match for Aston Villa on Saturday evening as Dean Smith recalled the winger to the line-up against Middlesbrough – and he posted a thinly-veiled dig at both of his Villa managers on Twitter.
The 23-year-old was given the nod above Jonathan Kodjia on the left flank as Villa surprised many by beating Middlesbrough 3-0 at The Riverside. Boro had only conceded 10 goals prior to the clash in 19 league games.
The Dutch international impressed as James Chester, Tammy Abraham and Glenn Whelan got their names on the score sheet, with Boro goalkeeper Darren Randolph at fault for two.
El Ghazi, who remains on loan from French Ligue 1 side Lille, reacted on Twitter after the match by stating that he was delighted to return to the starting line-up “after a long time”, in what is a slight dig at both Smith and Steve Bruce.
Bruce gave El Ghazi three starts but dropped him from the squad towards the end of his tenure, remaining an unused sub in Bruce’s final two games in charge. He was dropped completely against Millwall by Kevin McDonald.
Smith kept him out of the 18 in his first match in charge, as well as the matches against QPR and Derby. He was also left on the bench against Bolton and Birmingham, meaning Saturday was just his third appearance under Smith – and first start.
It remains to be seen if he will retain his place in the Villa side when they go up against rivals West Brom on Friday evening.
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