A selection of Aston Villa fans were left raving on Twitter over the performance of centre back Axel Tuanzebe after he helped the club to a 1-0 win over Yeovil Town in their League Cup clash.
The Championship side saw off their League Two opposition at Huish Park courtesy of a goal from Conor Hourihane with less than 15 minutes to play, with Steve Bruce opting to name a young side after two league games this season.
Among the changes was the inclusion of 20-year-old Tuanzebe, signed on loan from Manchester United for a second temporary spell at the club, and he impressed much of the Villa Park faithful on social media with his display at the back alongside Tommy Elphick.
This is Futbol has rounded up a selection of the supporters’ tweets:
https://twitter.com/Boo_1982/status/1029471443430584321
Id of gave Axel Tuanzebe motm had a great game . #Avfc #utv
— HOLTEENDER4LIFE? (@ONELOVEAVFC) August 14, 2018
Tuanzebe was our best player tonight #AVFC
— ……………….. (@Boutthatpaper) August 14, 2018
Axel tuanzebe with Chester at CB is a must ???
— Bradpugh (@braddpugghh11) August 14, 2018
Tuanzebe HAS to be MOTM. Played next to an idiot and in front of a clown. Gets it for sheer bloody persistence… #AVFC
— Keith Stokes??? (@keithlstokes) August 14, 2018
Tuanzebe's been a cut above tonight at centre back. Would love to see him our starting CB in the league alongside Chester. #avfc #utv #monthevillains
— James Chapple ? (@chapplejc) August 14, 2018
Tuanzebe looked much better tonight #avfc #beast
— Bish_AvFc (@AvFc_0973) August 14, 2018
Yeovil deserved to win that game, we were bad got lucky tonight, need to improve, Tuanzebe and Green impressed me
— James Montgomery (@JamesMonty1996) August 14, 2018
Opinion
Despite the gulf between the two clubs, Yeovil really gave Villa a run for their money and there could have quite easily been an upset on the cards had it not been for the performance of Tuanzebe. At just 20-years-old, he looked more composed and confident both on and off the ball than some of his more experienced team mates, and if this is what Villa fans can expect from him this season, then they should be feeling pretty good. On the whole though, this was not good enough from Bruce’s side, and he will be expecting much better for their upcoming Championship games, which is where the club’s focus lies. Will Tuanzebe be given the chance to prove himself in a league game any time soon? After this performance, coupled with the shaky display of Elphick alongside him, it seems a no-brainer, but perhaps his lack of experience will go against him in Bruce’s eyes.