It was only Aston Villa’s second away win since January, but yesterday’s 3-1 win at Anfield finally saw Paul Lambert’s young guns come of age.
Averaging under 24 years, the Villains were rampart as they tore apart Brendan Rodgers’ resurgent Liverpool side.
Liverpool couldn’t cope with the power of Christian Benteke and the intelligence of Andreas Weimann in attack, and the industry of Brett Holman and Barry Bannan saw them totally dominate Lucas, Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen in the midfield. Defensively there was also a huge improvement; the backline was to thank for a catalogue of crucial tackles that kept the Reds at bay in the first 20 minutes.
The former Norwich boss has come in for criticism this season for his selection policy, particularly in leaving out the £24 million Darren Bent, and his side have been hovering dangerously close to the relegation places all year.
Villa still only sit three points above the drop zone in 14th, but if they can consistently reproduce the magnificent team display of yesterday, a top half finish is surely not out of their grasp.
The problem is that this type of performance has been all too rare this season. Villa have only scored 15 league goals and at times their defence has been unable to cope with the fluid attacking play of teams like Manchester City and Southampton, against whom they’ve shipped goals.
Much of this can be attributed to the inexperience of Lambert’s team. Against Liverpool, only Bannan has played more than 50 premier League matches. Experienced campaigners like Bent and Shay Given have been cast aside as Lambert has looked to rejuvenate his squad with youth.
The Glaswegian has plundered the lower leagues for players that he believes can show the commitment to the club that was painfully lacking in players like Steven Ireland and Charles N’Zogbia under Alex McLeish. Ashley Westwood came in from Crewe, Matthew Lowton from Sheffield Wednesday and Nathan Baker and Chris Herd were promoted from the youth team.
All four started yesterday and the more experience they gain the less likely that lapses in concentration will cost Villa key points in the second half of the season.
But it is in the Belgian Benteke, that Lambert has unearthed a real gem. Often this season we have seen flashes of a striker whose strength and ability has been reminiscent of a young Didier Drogba. The 22-year-old still has a long way to go to emulate Chelsea’s Champions League hero but on Saturday his all-round performance was devastating. The £7 milion man bullied the Liverpool backline and his backheel to set up Weimann for the second goal showed a real touch of class in such a big game.
The trust that Lambert has placed in his youngsters has been refreshing but his side are still in a fight to stay in this league, particularly with Chelsea and Tottenham to play in their next two matches.
He will hope that his youngsters can cope with the occasional flogging from the big boys while maintaining a solid home record and improving their away form. If he can achieve this, it will be a magnificent achievement for the youngest side in the league, and something to build on for the next campaign.
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