Aston Villa vs Wolves man of the match: Ezri Konsa

[Editor’s Note] Every match, Liam - our young writer - selects a ‘man of the match’ - win, lose or draw. Today his selection is Ezri Konsa! Thanks Liam.

Claret and blue prevailed over the black and gold of Wolves as the Villans progress to the Quarter Finals of the Carabao Cup after a 2-1 win against Nuno’s side.

Dean Smith’s team took the lead in the 28th minute after John Ruddy failed to collect El Ghazi’s shot as the ball slowly rolled into the net, an embarrassing moment for the former England international in front of the Wolves faithful. Aston Villa continued to dominate possession throughout the first half however the Wanderers equalised early in the second after the Italian Patrick Cutrone instinctively tapped the ball past Jed Steer in the goal. Villa responded three minutes later as Elmohamady’s flick on from Henri Lansbury’s intricate free kick beat a hopeless Rudy once again and secured the home side a place in the next round of the Carabao Cup.

The 126th occasion between Villa and Wolves proved to be a tight affair as both sides remained tenacious throughout the fixture. The Villans and the Wanderers lacked creativity and a clinical edge with the away side continually resulting to long balls however there was one man in the heart of Dean Smith’s defence who remained calm and composed on the ball, that man was my man of the match, Ezri Konsa!

The Englishman was a colossus at centre back as he consistently won his aerial battles as well as forming a solid partnership with Kortney Hause. Konsa oozed class as he continued to artfully travel across the pitch throughout the match against Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as clearly portraying his fantastic defensive qualities, showing the Villa faithful why he was bought in the summer.

A job well done as Aston Villa progress to the next stage of the Carabao Cup but could we go all the way to Wembley?