Aston Villa missed out on a chance to win their first domestic cup since 1996 as Manchester City claimed the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 win.
The Villans deserve credit for their display, however, showing much more fight and quality than the last time they played Pep Guardiola’s side – losing 6-1 at Villa Park in January.
They almost took the game to extra time too when Bjorn Engels’ header hit the post after a Claudio Bravo save, but ultimately the Villa forwards did not produce enough in the final third.
One player who was particularly ineffective was Jack Grealish, and that took some fans by surprise given he has made 17 goal contributions this term.
The skipper was visibly upset after the final whistle, too, with City players going over to console him as he lay on the pitch with his hands across his face.
He will know it was a great chance to lift a trophy with his boyhood club, and time could be running out for him to do that as his future may lie elsewhere amid reported interest from Manchester United.
Some supporters were critical of his display against the Citizens, with suggestions that he didn’t have the same influence as usual.
Let’s be real Jack was bad today
— Mark Gilfillan (@mark_gilfillan9) March 1, 2020
Do you reckon he was not fully fit or something? He just seemed subdued; always passing backwards and not demanding the ball. Been quality all season but he just didn’t have anything at all today.
— Andy H (@DoctorCuriosity) March 1, 2020
Grealish doesn’t look right though. Not at the races at all today. #avfc
— 🇪🇺ę• å•m•ë•š🇪🇺 (@e4me5) March 1, 2020
3 years in a row to Wembley! Interesting enough, on all 3 occasions our main man Jack Grealish did not have much of an impact! This could be his last final appearance for #AVFC at Wembley but ultimately he’s still one of our greatest #astonvilla #CarabaoCup #CarabaoCupFinal
— Danny 🇬🇧🏴 #avfc (@AvfcFitbit) March 1, 2020
Great time for Grealish to not turn up 🤦♂️ #avfc
— Chris (@minichr1s) March 1, 2020
Couldn’t get in the game today. Pretty ineffective #avfc https://t.co/Yvgmm2fEzp
— [ Jake ] (@villamma) March 1, 2020
[freshpress-poll id=”281645″]
Was Grealish disappointing on Sunday Villa fans or did his teammates fail to support him against strong opposition? Share your views below…
