Argentine midfielder Emiliano Buendia is back from injury and among the goals.
The midfielder started and scored for Aston Villa in their game versus Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL (Carabao) Cup, announcing to the fans that he had made a full recovery.
The former Norwich City midfielder has been with the Villains since 2021 but has not been able to make his mark fully thanks to a series of injuries, some long term, like the one he just recovered from before getting minutes in the Carabao Cup.
For the game against Wycombe, Villa manager Unai Emery made drastic changes to his regular side in order to manage the minutes of his important players thanks to the fixtures list they have to deal with before the next international break. Buendia started in his preferred role in the hole behind the striker and put in an excellent shift which ended with a goal in the 55th minute.
He was taken off in injury time to a standing ovation from the travelling Villa support, and the midfielder has shown his appreciation to the fans and the manager for helping him recover on what he called a “special night”.
“It is my fourth season here, to have the captain’s armband and to help the team with a goal and get through to another round is an amazing feeling,” Buendia, who captained a team that was made up of academy youngsters said after the match.
“We have a really big squad as we showed today. We have an amazing academy and today was a chance to show our quality.”
“We try to play our game and keep going in our philosophy and we got the win.”
Buendia was not the only one to have a special night. His goal helped Emery break an Aston Villa record that has stood for six decades.
The Spaniard became the fastest Aston Villa manager to win 50 games for the club, a feat which he achieved in 90 games. He beat legendary English manager Joe Mercer, who managed the feat in 93 games and stepped down from his role as Villa manager in 1964 after six years in charge of the Birmingham-based club.
“It’s always difficult playing against teams away from home with their supporters, they have a duty to show the capacity to fight the teams in the Premier League,” Emery said after the game.
“They were playing with motivation and they played well. We were trying to control the first half with our positioning.”
“We didn’t have a lot of chances but I was happy because I think it was a must to play 90 minutes and play in a way where we feel comfortable on the pitch.”
“Not losing any easy balls, I think we more or less did, and then proceed when creating chances to be clinical and we did. I am happy.”
Villa are now in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup and will find out their opponents after the Wednesday round of fixtures.
