On this day four years ago, Aston Villa secured a 2-1 win over Leicester City which saw them earn a place in the EFL Cup final.
Things at Aston Villa are going extremely well right now with them currently sitting in fourth place in the league.
Under the tutelage of Unai Emery, the Villans have gone from strength to strength and risen up the Premier League.
Back in 2020, it was a different time. Dean Smith’s Villa side were looking to survive following Championship promotion.
The EFL Cup was a welcome distraction for the side from the weekly struggles that the Premier League threw up.
The competition started with the Villans achieving a 6-1 over Crewe Alexandra. This included Ezri Konsa’s first goal for the club. This was followed by a 2-1 win over Wolves which sprung up an iconic Ahmed Elmohammady celebration.
In the next round was a 5-0 win over Liverpool which saw them have to play their youth side. This was due to their Club World Cup commitments. This saw Villa take a place in the two-legged semi-final against Leicester City. The first side of the tie finished 1-1 thanks to a Fred Guilbert strike early on.
What followed was an iconic clash against the Foxes at Villa Park which included an iconic winner.
On This Day: Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester City
Given that Leicester are in the Championship now and Villa are at the top end of the Premier League, you would be forgiven for forgetting that it was the other way around four years ago.
Although the game is remembered for the eventual winner, there was another iconic performance. Orjan Nyland may be remembered for his Sheffield United error, but he was amazing on the night.
He first made a wonderful fingertip save to keep out James Maddison early on. He continued in that vein throughout.
It was Villa who dealt the first blow as Jack Grealish flicked the ball to Matt Targett who smashed it in on the half-volley. This put the Villans 2-1 up over Leicester in the tie.
Now Villa star, Youri Tielemans was next to be kept out by the fingertips of Nyland. The Norweigan couldn’t stop Kelechi Iheanacho from levelling the game with an easy tap-in.
The moment of magic came in the final minutes as Elmohammady whipped the crosses of all crosses to Trezeguet. His finish was superb and the following scenes were enough to raise the hairs on any Villa fan’s neck.
This saw Villa book their place at Wembley in the final. Although they eventually fell to a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, the semi-final win is still iconic.
Villa fans remember
Today in a post on social media, the Villans have been reacting to the iconic Villa Park moment four years later.
With over 1000 likes it is clear to see that this moment is well remembered by fans and is a modern memory to hold on to. This has seen fans react through comments showing their love to Trezeguet in particular.
Given that he was a player who blew very hot and cold in his spell with the club, he had many iconic moments. From this Leicester goal to lockdown strikes against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, he became a cult hero.
This fan reacted by saying: “I’ll never forget Trez and how he help us not only to Wembley but his goals keeping in the Prem. the first season back. HERO!”
There is no doubt as to how iconic this moment this was and you’ll struggle to find better limbs anywhere.
