Andre Moreira was the hero on the night as Aston Villa beat Yeovil Town in the first round of the EFL Cup – or was he?
The main thing is that Aston Villa are into the next round of the EFL Cup. But the manner in which they booked their place in the second round was far from convincing.
Steve Bruce’s side edged past League Two Yeovil Town at Huish Park, Connor Hourihane netting the winner with just over 10 minutes remaining. If debutant goalkeeper Andre Moreira had not saved an Alex Fisher penalty, however, Villa could have been one of a number of Championship sides dumped out on Tuesday.
All in all, it was a strange debut for Moreira.
The 22-year-old has arrived on loan at Atletico Madrid and has been immediately installed as the club’s number two with Norway international Orjan Nyland, a summer recruit from Ingolstadt, seemingly getting the nod ahead of him.
And while Moreira will point to that crucial spot-kick denial, that does not mean his first appearance in English football was a runaway success.
As was perhaps expected, the Portugal U21 international struggled at times with set pieces and looked a nervous wreck when high balls came into his box. Comparisons can certainly be drawn between him and Pierluigi Gollini, the young Italian who moved to Villa in 2016 and struggled.
Moreira certainly has potential, however, and Villa fans would perhaps be wise to reserve judgement.
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