ZHAKE
Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings teamed up in the centre of defence as Aston Villa beat Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday, and the former sent a message after the game.
Unai Emery‘s side are only halfway through the tie, with the Premier League team set to welcome Brugge to Villa Park on Wednesday 12 March, but it was the perfect set-up for success.
Leon Bailey fired home after just three minutes on 4 March, only for full-back Maxim De Cuyper to answer back nine minutes later, but the Villans remained strong until the final whistle.
Marco Asensio changed the game for Villa, having replaced Marcus Rashford before Brandon Mechele’s own goal for the home side, then stepping up to take a penalty in the 88th minute.
There were some shaky moments in Belgium, though with Mings clearly back to his best for Villa, they travelled back to England with an all-important two-goal lead.
Ezri Konsa keeps Club Brugge quiet in Champions League clash
Taking a mature approach to the scoreline, Konsa wrote via Instagram [4 March]: “Half-time,” with a battery emoji, though there was a hint to scroll through the photos to an unfortunate image of John McGinn.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice liked the post while Al Ahli’s Ivan Toney commented: “It’s fuseeeeee,” with a fire emoji. Kyle Walker and Youri Tielemans also liked the post.
Of course, the players will not be assuming their place in the next round has been secured, especially not after the defeat to Club Brugge during the league phase in November.
Villa cannot afford to take their eye off the ball now, with the Champions League quarter-finals at stake, a top-four spot in the Premier League and the FA Cup trophy all to fight for.
There is no reason why Emery and his team should not be keeping an eye on all three pieces of silverware, but with the injury luck at Villa Park this season, setbacks could strike at any time.
Qudus Salihu
ZHAKE
