It was May 2, 2016. Eden Hazard scored a great goal on the crossbar to draw Chelsea 2-2 in the derby with Tottenham. This made something that few would have expected at the start of the season a reality.
Leicester City, led by Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and coach Claudio Ranieri, won the first place in the English top flight. It was such a big shock that even the most ardent fans couldn’t believe their eyes.
“This is really impossible. At the start of the season there was no odds I’d bet on. None. Even if they’d offered me ten million to one, I’d have said, ‘No, that’s a waste of a pound,'” commented Leicester’s triumphant former striker and club legend Gary Lineker.
Everyone thought that a drop in form, or at least a slight hesitation, must be coming. And that’s nothing. The foxes collected win after win, point after point. Similar to Aston Villa this year.
After an unconvincing start, the West Midlands side’s successful run came and Aston Villa are now being talked about as a contender for the title. The unexpected machine began to pedal. Out of the last 36 possible points, she got 33. And she started a streak that fans don’t remember for more than a hundred years.
“Three points adrift of the Premier League leaders makes Villa a title contender, especially with a trip to the Emirates coming up and Villa more than evenly matched against Arsenal at Birmingham a few weeks ago.”
written by Sam Blitz for Sky Sports.
The English gem Morgan Rogers caught a great style during the season. After a lukewarm start, he became the driving force behind Aston Villa’s offensive and scored four times in the last two matches.
“Throughout the game I didn’t feel they were playing well, at least not the way they normally are. But when you have an exceptional player in top form who can score goals at that level, you always have hope,” commented Rogers’ performance against Manchester United Gary Neville.
When you add to that the defense led by the world champion Emiliano Martínez or the English representative Ezri Konsa, the performance in the season takes on a logical outline.
The team’s fairytale mood was underlined by a pre-match act with the grandson of music legend Ozzy Osbourne. Before kick-off, “Villans” captain John McGinn was accompanied by Osbourne’s daughter Kelly, along with her son Sidney, as they ceremonially laid the ball for the kick-off of the Premier League round 17 match.
“It’s very special, Ozzy would be very happy about it,” responded Sharon, the life partner of the late music legend, on her Instagram. She was a big fan of the team from Birmingham.
But if Aston Villa really want to think about the top rungs, they must now handle the baptism of fire. On Saturday, he has a big round of goals at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
“She now faces two teams who might not be so forgiving of her slow entry into the game any longer. Chelsea’s best performances this season have come against stronger opposition,” Blitz added.
And the Villans’ busy away schedule continues with a game against Arsenal at the end of December. This appears to be one of the key duels of this season. But it must be said that Aston Villa can do it against the Gunners. The proof is the balance of the last five mutual matches, when they managed to win three of them, one ended in a draw, and the team from London took three points only once – and that was in the summer of 2024. The players themselves believe in this duel.
“We feel we can win every game,” said Morgan Rogers after the game against the Red Devils.
