UNAI EMERY was handed a boost after one of his star players returned to action following 465 days on the sideline.
Aston Villa do not have any fixtures for two weeks due to the international break, but their U21 side were competing away at Fleetwood in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.
The likes of Ross Barkley and Jacob Ramsey were involved in the game as Villa claimed a 3-2 win over their League Two opposition.
But it was another well-known name that stole the show on his return to the pitch.
That man was Argentinian Emi Buendia.
The forward, 27, suffered an ACL injury in training two days before the start of last season.
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It meant he was unavailable for the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign as Unai Emery’s side secured Champions League qualification.
So when he started for Villa’s U21s at Fleetwood, they were to be his first minutes since May 2023 when he featured in his side’s final day victory over Brighton.
According to Birmingham Live, this was a 465-day wait.
And Buendia, who was given the captain’s armband, wasted no time in making an impact as he scored twice before being replaced with 13 minutes remaining.
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The former Getafe and Norwich playmaker will now be hoping to return to the sort of form he had during the 2022/23 season when he impressed under Emery, scoring five goals and assisting three.
He also registered 10 goal contributions in the previous campaign.
But he faces competition for places at Villa Park with the likes of Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Amadou Onana providing the creative threat behind Ollie Watkins.
Villa began their campaign with a 2-1 win away at West Ham, before they lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal.
Before the international break, they beat Leicester 2-1 at the King Power Stadium thanks to goals from Onana and Jhon Duran.
Changes to the Premier League for 2024/25
NOTHING stays the same forever.
And that includes the Premier League, which is making a number of tweaks this season.
Team news will now be released 75 MINUTES before kick-off, 15 minutes earlier than had been the case before.
Things could get crowded on the touchline, with the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up boosted from three players per team to FIVE.
There’s also a change to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal, an update to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides – but not straight away.
Go here to read about all the changes to the Premier League for 2024/25.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
