The irony will not have been lost on Steven Gerrard.
As Aston Villa trudged off to a smattering of boos following after Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to relegation-threatened Watford – their second single-goal defeat in succession – a man who bid farewell to life at Bodymoor Heath during the January transfer window rubbed enough seasoning in Gerrard’s wounds to keep Salt Bae in business for the forseeable future.
Trezeguet marked his Istanbul Basaksehir debut with an assist during last week’s victory over Gazientep. This weekend, he went one better, netting both goals in a 2-0 triumph away from home at Rizespor.
His second of the evening might have involved it’s fair share of fortune, slammed home after a dreadful defensive mix-up, but his first was nothing short of top-quality forward play from a man who scored a bucketload of goals in his previous spell at Super Lig level with Kasimpasa.
Timing his run to perfection, Trezeguet raced onto a terrific through-ball and slotted the most composed of finishes into the far corner.
He scored as many goals in 19 minutes as he did during his last 24 games at Aston Villa. It was also his first in 320 days at club level.
Does Trezeguet have a future at Aston Villa?
“This win was very important for up,” says Basaksehir assistant coach Erdinc Sozer, speaking to Ajansspor.
“We played very dominantly in the first half. We played very well in the second half as well. Congratulations to the team. Trezeguet is very nice. He contributes.”
This is not to say, of course, that Trezeguet would have come off the bench to salvage a point for Aston Villa against either Watford or Newcastle.
But if the hard-running cult hero continues to make game-winning contributions over in Istanbul, he’ll do his hopes of a second chance at Aston Villa no harm at all when his loan deal expires in June.
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