Win against Norwich showed why Conor Hourihane should start every game

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Jack Grealish was named ‘man of the match’ against Norwich City but Conor Hourihane showed why he is Aston Villa’s most important player.

For the first time since the opening game of the season, Aston Villa looked incredibly balanced. Dean Smith’s side were extremely unlucky to not take the three points against Tottenham early in August but they have struggled in most games since.

However, the poor run ended with a bang as Villa smashed an injury-stricken Norwich side in their own backyard. Summer signing Wesley bagged two well-taken goals while ‘man of the match’ Jack Grealish opened his account for the season.

One player who made a major difference for Villa was Conor Hourihane. The 28-year-old was benched for five games after the starting against Spurs on the opening day but Smith’s side, on the whole, look a lot better with Hourihane in their line up.

His performance in the Championship last season was brilliant as he scored seven times and provided 12 assists mainly from a deeper role. Hourihane, against Norwich, scored one, assisted another and won the penalty that Wesley missed.

Douglas Luiz’s stunning strike after coming off the bench and Marvelous Nakamba’s potential to become a star in the centre of the park will make it hard for Smith to continue with Hourihane but the Irishman offers a whole lot more across the 90 minutes than the other two.

His quality on the ball, vision, ability to switch play from one side to the other, balance between attack and defence and his willingness to have a go at goal from distance will give Villa the complete package in the heart of their midfield and that will be pivotal for their survival.

Villa have been unbeaten in all competitions since their loss at Arsenal a couple of weeks ago and Hourihane has started each of those three games. With a difficult game against an inform Brighton side coming up after the international break, Smith will need to prepare his side well and Hourihane has to be the first name on his team sheet.