Jack Grealish and Conor Hourihane stole the show as Aston Villa beat Newcastle United 2-0 on Monday.
Dean Smith’s Aston Villa haven’t quite had the perfect return to the Premier League. The Villans went into last night’s game against Newcastle after three consecutive losses and with the Magpies unbeaten in their previous three, the odds were truly against the hosts.
However, two moments of absolute brilliance from Conor Hourihane put Villa two up before half time and that was enough to give them the three points. The Irishman was an integral part of Villa’s promotion campaign last season and he has been their lucky charm so far this term.
Smith’s side have lost just one game when Hourihane has started this season and his performance against Newcastle last night showed exactly how important he is to the club. The 28-year-old scored one, assisted another and maintained an incredible passing accuracy of 97%. He attempted three key passes, 10 crosses, two long balls and was dribbled past just once all game. (SofaScore)
As impressive as his stats look, Hourihane’s biggest positive this season has been his partnership with Jack Grealish. The duo, like last season, have a phenomenal understanding on the pitch and that caused Newcastle a ton of problems on Monday.
Grealish’s dribbling skills allow him to carry the ball into the final third where he uses his vision to pick out the 28-year-old’s impressive runs down the left flank. The Villa skipper has at times struggled to live up to his expectations but with Hourihane next to him, his performances have improved massively and his life on the pitch has become a whole lot easier.
The duo will need to continue their good form especially in their next four games when they take on Manchester United, Chelsea, Leicester City and last season’s Championship rivals Sheffield United who have exceeded their expectations and are currently sixth in the league.
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