Talking Points from the Aston Villa vs Liverpool FA Cup Semi-Final

Credit: Ben Sutherland | Flickr Creative Commons

IV. When Villa’s Best Players Play Best They Are Hard To Beat

Christian Benteke has been on an absolute goal-scoring tear recently, and added another beauty against Liverpool. Overall, he was difficult to play against, and poor Martin Skrtl had no answer for him. What’s more, is Benteke’s class in linking up play with his teammates demonstrates the variety of his skillset. He’s not just a six yard box poacher, Benteke is a complete forward, sometimes to his own detriment.

With the absence of Agbonlahor, Benteke was limited in his options if he was pulled out wide. Jack Grealish provided a useful foil, but there was no other big physical presence that Benteke could send a cross into the box for. There are rumours that Libor Kozak might finally be healthy enough to play in the coming weeks, which would add another dimension to the attack, but at this point, defending teams know that if they pull Benteke wide, he’s going to be limited in what he can inflict.

That being said, that running heel flick. My god. There is pretty much no other big forward either capable of or bold enough to try it. You’ll never see it from Diego Costa.

Also ticking every box that you’d want from a star player was Fabian Delph. He was massive as a box-to-box option for Villa, linking up with Grealish on the attack, and letting Ashley Westwood mop up everything behind him. While a cynic might have suggested handing him the captain’s armband was part of the terms of his new contract, it’s clear that he is one of the most integral pieces to the Villa lineup. Adding a massive goal to his tally, and leading his side to the FA Cup Final is surely going to further endear himself to the fans in B6.