Dean Smith Aston Villa
Aston Villa proved they can win without Jack Grealish – but the captain couldn’t resist marking the victory against Leeds United with a post on social media. Villa won 1-0 at Elland Road on Saturday thanks to Anwar El Ghazi’s fifth-minute strike. It was El Ghazi’s seventh goal in the Premier League this season with the Dutch winger having been restored to the starting XI in Grealish’s absence.
Dean Smith said: “It’s been an all-round team performance this season and we’ve probably talked about Jack less this season than we did last season. To still be talking about him shows the quality he’s got. He’s been at a super-high level this year and got into the England team and we want him back as soon as possible, such is the quality he is.”
Dean Smith added: “Listen, it’s nice to win a game without Jack in the team because, as I said, there was a lot made out of us not winning a Premier League game without Jack. But, as I said, they were against Liverpool who went top of the league, Leicester who went second and Wolves who went seventh. They weren’t gimme games, that’s for sure, and Jack would have been the first cheering that win on from home today.”
After the break, Villa dug deep and looked to counter as Leeds pressed for an equaliser. Patrick Bamford’s header bounced over the crossbar late on from Ezgjan Alioski’s deep cross.
