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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN midfielder, Marvelous Nakamba put up a solid second half performance for his English Premier League side, Aston Villa who came from behind to overpower Burton Albion 3-1 in an EFL Cup second round fixture at Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday.
Nakamba, played the full 90 minutes and while he was subdued in the first half, he came alive in the second stanza with a lot of energy as he engineered things in midfield. It was certainly his efforts that saw Villa score three second half goals to advance to the third round of the competition.
Aston Villa fell behind as early as the second minute when Colin Daniels gave the League 1 side the lead.
Ollie Watkins, who recently became Aston Villa’s record signing, signed on an initial £28million deal from Brentford and took over the number 11 jersey from Nakamba found the equaliser for the Claret and Blue six minutes before the break.
With the fixture seemingly headed for penalties, Aston Villa skipper, Jack Grealish, hours after signing a new five-year contract to stay at the club gave his team the lead two minutes before the end with a spectacular volley. Substitute, Kienan Davies made it 3-1 in stoppage time.
Nakamba, preferred ahead of Douglas Luiz at defensive link was given a rating of six out 10 by BirminghamLive for his serious levels of liveliness.
“A rare start for ‘Naka’ anchoring Villa’s midfield in place of Villa’s first choice, Douglas Luiz. Showed serious levels of energy in that deep-lying role but was caught out on occasion dallying on the ball,’’ wrote BirminghamLive.
Aston Villa start their league campaign with a Monday night fixture against Sheffield United at Villa Park next week and it is to be seen if Dean Smith sticks with Nakamba or goes back to Luiz in the starting line up.
@Mdawini_29
Online Reporter