Aston Villa lost 2-0 to Stoke City in their second pre-season friendly of the summer at the bet365 Stadium this afternoon. Following a far more comfortable 4-0 over Walsall in midweek, Villa failed to get going against the Potters, who scored goals either side of half-time. Wesley appeared to move his head towards Powell before grabbing him by the throat and was subsequently shown a straight red card for his reaction to losing out on a free-kick decision near the touchline.
Stoke boss Michael O’Neill said of the incident: “I didn’t see it – honestly, I didn’t see the incident. I don’t really like to see players sent off in pre-season games, for me it doesn’t really serve any purpose at all. It would have been better for the game as a whole, given there were still 25 minutes to play had he stayed on the field. But with regards to the incident, I didn’t see it.”
