Aston Villa Stuns Manchester City At The Etihad With 4-2 League Cup Win

I didn't watch this game. Unless you were at the Etihad, you didn't watch this game. But The odds are very, very good that it's been a very long time since Aston Villa made you so, so happy. From the moment the draw was announced, no one gave Villa a snowball's chance of getting out of the Etihad with a win. And what's more, anyone who would have given Villa a chance would have been absolutely nuts; Manchester City are miles better than Aston Villa, and even playing a weakened squad compared to their best the gap in talent between the sides looked enormous.

And yet! Not only did Villa manage to win, they did so by dominating long stretches of the game, coming back from two separate deficits, and scoring twice in an extra time period when most would have assumed they'd just try to hang onto their hats and roll the dice on penalties. This isn't that team any more. Sometimes that's going to mean they go down in flames against a newly promoted Southampton side. Other days it means they're going to walk into the home of the defending Premier League champions and walk out winners.

This is just the best thing. There's no other way to put it. It's fine to have a realistic take on how long it will take to get this thing turned around, and to acknowledge that there are still many struggles ahead. But if you can still manage to feel like the sky is falling after that? I just feel sorry for you.