On Saturday, Aston Villa got off to a flying start under Dean Smith, beating Swansea 1-0 in front of a sold-out Villa Park. A number of players stepped up to the mark in an attempt to impress their new gaffer, and Neil Taylor was one of those, putting in a superb block to deny a Swansea goal and overall having probably his best game in a Villa shirt to date.
ICYMI: What a block from Neil Taylor #PartOfThePride #AVFC pic.twitter.com/c2dLG1Kkek
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) 22 October 2018
The game on Saturday would have had added pressure for Taylor seeing as he was up against his former side in Swansea City. Back in January 2017 the Welsh defender swapped The Liberty Stadium for Villa Park and whilst he hasn’t always been the number one choice in Birmingham, the supporters are still pleased to have him at the club and if he can build on his performance against his former side then he’ll be undroppable.
So far, Taylor hasn’t been the automatic number one at left-back at Aston Villa and he’s made just 52 appearances in almost two years at the club. Last season under Steve Bruce the defender racked up 29 Championship appearances, missing 17 league games throughout the season. This year, though he’ll want to play a bigger role and will hope he can help to inspire his side towards a big season that hopefully ends in promotion for The Villains.
You can read The Villa fans’ verdict on Taylor here:
Played very well on Saturday. Just wanna see abit more consistency from the guy
— Will (@will_avfc) October 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/SebViIIa/status/1054310901011095558
I thought Nyland saved that…fair play Taylor. There’s a player in there.
— Oakley Doakley (@Gazoaks) October 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/VillansOpinions/status/1054324113228083201
Great block and his best game in a Villa shirt …. Kodjia ball watching though
— a.s.dhal (@asdhaliwal) October 22, 2018
He was flawless Saturday showing his true potential
— driveitpaddy (@driveitpaddy83) 22 October 2018
https://twitter.com/ingram1964/status/1054312831586320390
He looked a different player Saturday, this has to be our settled back 4 till January now, can only get better!
— Daniel O'Sullivan (@danosulli44) October 22, 2018
The Villa fans on Twitter were delighted with Taylor on Saturday and will be keen to see more from the defender in the coming weeks.
