Aston Villa advanced through to the next round of the FA Cup on Sunday evening to put their poor form in the Premier League firmly to one side.
Villa would ultimately get the better of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur by a single goal in a 2-1 win, with Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers sharing out the strikes in the slim Cup victory.
Whilst there would have been many pleasing elements from the performance for Unai Emery to latch onto when it comes to those who started the game, the main excitement from the clash came from the many star-studded substitutes the Spaniard made, which included Marcus Rashford making his hotly anticipated debut.
Marcus Rashford's Aston Villa debut in numbers
Although his time at Manchester United has turned sour – leading to this last-ditch loan switch taking place – there’s no doubt that Rashford is a top Premier League performer when at the very peak of his powers.
Indeed, the Manchester-born attacker hasn’t just amassed 201 goal contributions at Old Trafford by chance, with the 27-year-old keen to hit the ground running when substituted late on versus Spurs.
Minutes played
24
Touches
22
Accurate passes
13/14 (93%)
Key passes
0
Shots
0
Successful dribbles
1/2
Ground duels won
3/5
Aerial duels won
1/1
Tackles
2
Rashford was only gifted 24 minutes of action by Emery in this clash, but he still showed off his class in flashes with one successful dribble proving to be too tricky for Pedro Porro to thwart, on top of the fact the new Villa number nine also won four ground duels to show off his commitment to his loan employers.
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Aston Villa have a more exciting signing than Rashford
Emery will no doubt continue to use Rashford here and there as a top-quality option to boost his already entertaining attack.
However, it was another of his fresh faces in Marco Asensio who really stole the show against the visitors from North London to solidify the fact he might well be an even better capture than the Red Devils outcast.
Villa supporters wouldn’t have believed their luck come the end of the transfer window when both Asensio and Rashford arrived through the door on short-term deals, with the loan move for the ex-Real Madrid man a real coup based on first impressions.
Position
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
RW
148
30
15
LW
132
22
22
AM
90
19
22
CF
18
5
5
CM
4
0
0
SS
1
0
1
LM
1
0
0
Across his far more memorable spell on the pitch, the versatile midfielder amazingly completed all 15 of his passes, alongside also bamboozling many a Spurs defender with his repertoire of skills.
One of those stylish bits of play nearly resulted in a debut assist coming the well-travelled 29-year-old’s way, with a sublime flick moments after his introduction seeing Rogers then fire over a subsequent effort.
Whilst Rashford does know the English game inside and out, it’s safe to say his damaging experiences at Old Trafford as of late might well have left some lasting bruises that will have dented his confidence, whilst Asensio already looks confident and assured mere minutes into his first taster of his new surroundings.
Minutes played
24
Touches
20
Accurate passes
15/15
Key passes
1
Dribbles
1
Crosses
2
Duels won
2/3
Possession lost
2
Interceptions
1
Tackles
1
Alongside that, Emery will also feel comfortable chucking Asensio into his starting lineups moving forward in a whole plethora of different positions, with the 38-time senior Spain international capable of playing all across the attack, notably featuring on either flank on over 100 occasions.
His efforts as an adaptable presence playing at the Santiago Bernabeu resulted in three illustrious Champions League titles heading Madrid’s way, on top of three La Liga title successes also being achieved, meaning Asensio won’t be fazed whatsoever playing on Europe’s biggest stage for Emery’s men either.
The 29-year-old has even been labelled as “world-class” in the past by one of his former Spain managers in Vicente del Bosque, with this signing one that might take Villa to the next level on its own, away from the other statement deal of Rashford.
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