Villa vs Sheffield United man of the match: Marvelous Nakamba

[Editor’s Note] Every match, Liam - our young writer - selects a ‘man of the match’ - win, lose or draw.

It was a frantic first half at Bramall Lane as both sides combatively battled to secure a win in order to progress up the Premier League table. Villa’s defence continued to be resolute and tenacious as the backline dealt with the Baldes’ attacks efficiently for 45 minutes. John Lundstram and Enda Stevens both kept Tom Heaton alert however the Villans managed to limit Chris Wilder’s side from creating lots of chances and the game remained 0-0 going into the break.

The Blades continued to pressurise Dean Smith’s side in the second half and opened the scoring in the 50th minute after John Fleck instinctively pounced on Lundstram’s through ball and powerfully fired the ball past a helpless Tom Heaton.

The Villans immediately responded to conceding with Grealish and El Ghazi’s attempts at goal being excellently blocked by the home sides’ defence however Villa struggled to maintain possession with Sheffield United dominating play.

Despite the claret and blue army’s resurgence, Chris Wilder’s side extended their lead in the 73rd minute with the Scottish midfielder Fleck firing home from close range to secure his second goal of the game. United were unlucky to not extend their lead further with striker McGoldrick forcing Heaton into action in the later stages of the game however this Premier League fixture finished 2-0 to the Blades.

Another disappointing display from the boys in claret and blue with the away side becoming fatigued and complacent as the match progressed with Sheffield United ultimately deserving the win at full time. Regarding my Man of the Match, there was one man who despite the limited amount of support he received during the game, he continued to anchor the midfield and worked tirelessly to retain the ball. That man was my Man of the Match, Marvelous Nakamba.

The former Club Brugge midfielder was a threat to the blades in the first half as he continued to intercept passes as well as being tenacious however just like many other players he was not given any support. As the fixture progressed, Villa struggled to maintain possession due to the fact they were fatigued which consequently resulted in Sheffield United’s dominance. Despite Smith’s players tiring , Nakamba continued to work hard to maintain possession however with no support the Zimbabwean struggled at Bramall Lane. The Villa faithful are fortunate to have talented player such as Marvelous Nakamba and for the Villans next game against Southampton he has surely kept his place in the starting XI.

With two consecutive games in the Premier League against Southampton and Norwich City on the horizon, can Aston Villa gain maximum points against their potential relegation rivals?