To a man, the players were outstanding, Gallagher in particular covering every blade of grass after opening his account for us with a precision strike from distance as we won the vast majority of our duels, kept possession well and closed Villa down quickly whenever they had the ball, blocking shots and crosses and making tackles with determination.
Richarlison’s powerful header on 25 minutes gave us a cushion and from there we controlled the game for the most part, Villa only grabbing a consolation in the dying seconds when Emi Buendia headed into the top corner for his third goal in as many games against us this season. It was a minor blot on our copybook, though, as we made it back-to-back league wins for the first time since the start of the season to move a point above West Ham in the final relegation spot with three games remaining.
More to follow...