Dean Smith’s Aston Villa overcame Burnley on New Year’s Day to push the Villans out of the relegation zone for the first time in three weeks. The Villa manager masterminded the win by changing from his usual 4-2-3-1 formation to a five-man defence and it had the desired effect in both surprising and thwarting their hosts. The reintroduction of Tyrone Mings after an injury layoff helped Villa’s cause as they fight for Premier League survival.
Once again Jack Grealish was the star of the show registering his sixth goal of the season which proved to be the decider in the match – though striker Wesley also benefitted from the switch to a three-man forward line and scored his first goal in four games. With a solid base behind them and a robust engine room of Marvelous Nakamba and Douglas Luiz, Wesly and Grealish were freed from any significant defensive responsibility, and they took the fight to the Burnley defence. The decision by Smith worked expertly and left Grealish as the joint highest-scoring English midfielder in the Premier League, alongside Dele Alli, Todd Cantwell and James Maddison.
Nakamba and Luiz proved to be diligent enough in midfield to avoid getting overrun and keep Burnley at bay, while the latter of the duo was also able to burst forward and provide an assist. It seems that Smith has discovered a partnership that can function in John McGinn’s absence, which still has the right balance which allows other areas of the field to flourish.
Meanwhile, it is no coincidence that Villa got back to winning ways when Mings was reintroduced to the defensive line up. The England international marshaled his less experienced teammates at the heart of the five-man defence, making sure Kourtney Hause and Ezri Konsa – who have just 14 Premier League appearances between them – were able to see out the encounter without too much difficulty.
It is not yet known whether Smith is wedded to the formation change just yet and it will be interesting to see if it appears once again against Manchester City in their next match. With an onslaught from the Champions to be expected, the system could get its second run out.
