Aston Villa vs Norwich: Villa play well and win

You might think that the title is over simplifying things, and it is, to a certain extent. But that's exactly what happened. Villa played good football, not great football, and it was enough to get them over the line. Were Norwich amazing? No. But at times this season, a team like Norwich would've grabbed a goal, and sat back and comfortably defended Villa's poor crossing.

It might be a bit unfair of me to criticise Villa's crossing, especially given that they took the lead when Joleon Lescott met Carles Gil's freekick to nod the opener on Saturday. But on the whole, since Jordan Amavi's injury, Villa's crossing has been terrible. I'll give Aly Cissokho a free pass seeing how we expect no better, but Leandro Bacuna, Jordan Veretout and Alan Hutton have ruined many an opportunity with their sub standard deliveries.

The question is, how did Saturday's 2-0 win compare with the previous fixture between the two?

Truthfully, I'm not in the best position to judge. I was away on vacation and missed Norwich winning 2-0. Going by the match report, it was "a game devoid of quality". Now, journalists like to sensationalise at times (I would know), but I can honestly say that I 100% believe that it was as bad as that sentence made it out to be. Late December Aston Villa sucked.

Losing 2-0, then coming back and winning 2-0 gives Villa a measure of revenge. It's especially vindicating too considering the injuries that Villa currently have. No Kozak, Gestede, Amavi and Sanchez would all have probably featured, had they been fit, along with the suspended Jordan Ayew. So the odds were against Villa, which makes the win even better. That isn't the best bit though. No...

GABBY SCORED! That's right folks, eleven months after his brace against Sunderland, Gabby Agbonlahor got himself on the scoresheet, slotting past Declan Rudd, who probably made the chance easier than it should've been with his abject positioning (I wonder if John Ruddy will return for Norwich's next game?). An in form Gabriel Agbonlahor is a nightmare for defences. Sadly, we forget this a lot of the time, because Gabby is rarely in form. Against Norwich, he played like he has a point to prove, and I guess he does. Criticised an awful lot this season, Villa's favourite son (sorry Jack) has his back against the wall, so it's great to see him coming out swinging. He may be going down, but he's sure as well going down swinging.

I just hope his team mates can pick up the fight. And maybe, just maybe, it won't result in a knockout loss for Villa. But going on the last result, Villa won't submit.