Wesley and El Ghazi choose Everton to launch Aston Villa | Soccer

It turns out that Dean Smith was right to call for reflection. "What do we do if we judge the players after two games?" Asked the Aston Villa manager on the eve of this match in response to questions regarding Wesley's performance, signing the club record , in particular. A little more than 24 hours later, the Brazilian striker scored his first goal in English football and Villa's season was launched thanks to a brave victory over a disappointing Everton team.

After starting the season with consecutive defeats, after a summer where the club spent £ 127 million on 12 new recruits, it seemed like an extremely important result for Villa. Smith leaves no doubt about Wesley's abilities or any of the other new faces of the club, but the outside noise would have become a little stronger if Villa had left the match looking for his first points of the season.

It is rather the local fans who found their voice during a sunny summer evening at Villa Park. The Midlands have celebrated their first Premier League win since February 2016. Villa has lost 14 of its last 15 high-flying matches and it will be a relief for all club-related people to finally put that bad record to bed.

It was not as comfortable as the scoreboard suggests, and Everton would go away wondering how the late substitute Theo Walcott failed to convert an opportunity to the edge of the game. gilding in the 90th minute. Moise Kean, who also stepped off the bench, created that opportunity and broke the ground in frustration when Walcott's shot swept the bar.

While Alex Iwobi was knocking just in front of this lack of Walcott, Villa was desperate to hear the final whistle. In the event, they grabbed a second at the last minute of extra time when Anwar El Ghazi, another substitute, slipped the ball past Jordan Pickford after being set up by the tireless John McGinn. Finally, Villa could breathe easily.

"It's a monkey on everyone's back, this first Premier League win," said Smith. "It was a tough game because it's a good team and I thought they started more brilliantly than us. They were the first to ball for the first 10 minutes and it seemed that the evening could be long. But I think the first goal galvanized the whole stadium and there was a lot of confidence in the players afterwards. "

It was a special moment especially for Wesley. The Brazilian cost 22 million pounds when he joined Brugge and he fought to make a good impression against Spurs or Bournemouth, prompting some to wonder where the goals for this side of the Villa would come from. Wesley's right boot provided the answer in the 21st minute after Jota's fine pbad and Jack Grealish's quick thinking.

"I'm not sure that his shoulders are as heavy as people claim," Smith said, questioned Wesley. "He's a good striker, I said it from the start. I watched him for a long time in Bruges, he scored goals in the Champions League. The No 9 shirt at Aston Villa is a big shirt to wear. I'm not sure he'll understand why, but I thought it looked like a very good old No9 for Aston Villa tonight. "

As for Everton, it was what could have been. They had the ball for long periods, enjoying 65% of ball possession on the outside, but lacked conviction in front of goal. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who started alone at the front, lost a presentable chance just after the half-hour mark, having been set up by Séamus Coleman, which was, in some ways, a sign taste of the future.

Wesley scored about 10 minutes earlier, leaving Marco Silva, Everton's manager, lamenting his team's loss of focus after André Gomes' loss after Jack Grealish fell. The Villa midfielder gave a free kick quickly, releasing Frédéric Guilbert, right back, just inside Everton's half. Suddenly, the audience was completely open. Guilbert moved the ball to Jota, who cleverly drifted from the right before cleverly slipping a pbad into Wesley's path. With the angle slightly against him, Wesley led a low shot in the far corner and Villa Park burst.

Silva was right to say that this was Villa's first attack and to highlight the opportunities offered by Everton, but the fact is that his team only scored one shot all night and that too many players were flattered to deceive. "It was not the best performance, of course," Silva said. "But when you looked at the odds we created, I think we deserved something more."