Several Aston Villa fans were left impressed with the performance of Brazilian striker Wesley in their recent fixture against Liverpool.
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The 22-year-old was slated for his previous display against Manchester City, but many supporters felt he was much improved against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Villa lost the game 2-1 following two late goals from Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane, and Wesley failed to score in the game (BBC Sport).
However, fans felt that his overall contribution was worthy of praise, suggesting that he gave centre-back duo Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk plenty to think about throughout the game.
Wesley is a new signing at Villa Park, having joined from Belgian outfit Club Brugge for what was a club-record transfer fee at the time (BBC Sport).
He has scored four times in his first 11 games for the club, two of which came in their recent 5-1 victory against Norwich City (Transfermarkt).
Interestingly, according to the statistics, the Brazilian didn’t play that well against Liverpool. Indeed, he didn’t have a shot on goal, played zero key passes and had five unsuccessful touches, finishing with a WhoScored rating of 6.15.
However, despite those stats, several fans were happy with his display and quite a few pointed towards the fact that he pressed the Reds’ defence well. Here is what some had to say about the striker on Twitter…
Thought he played really well. Had to play a different role today as we only had a quarter of the possession but he pressed well with lots of energy and even mad Van Dijk struggle
— Kieran 🦁 (@MisterGuilbert) November 2, 2019
Decent. Best pressing I’ve seen from him all season. Just needs to get in the box more
— Tom Cowley🏴 (@TomC2312_AVFC) November 2, 2019
was class on the big stage, didn’t really put a foot wrong.
— Adam (@Adam_Ftbl) November 2, 2019
Wesley righty receiving praise for his improved performance. Mobile & energetic, didn’t always win his duels but didn’t allow VVD & DL clean headers. One criticism, when #avfc are about to cross, he’s got to read the situation & find better positions in order to attack the cross.
— Lee Inman (@LeeInman4) November 3, 2019
I think Saturday was the first time I’ve seen Van Dijk rattled by an opposition player, Wesley battled and got in their face and he seemed flustered. Think that’s a big credit to Wesley’s physical performance. #avfc
— Stephen Lacken (@slacken9) November 4, 2019
I’ll hold my hands up and say that I’ve been unconvinced by Wesley as of yet but yesterday against Liverpool he played for the badge on his chest and gave everything!
Did he get a goal? No.
Did he have many shots? No.But he didn’t let Liverpool’s backline ignore him! 👏 #avfc pic.twitter.com/jKj0u66LQP
— Total Villa (@Total_Villa) November 3, 2019
Aston Villa fans, how well did you think Wesley played against Liverpool? Let us know in the comments below…
