Aston Villa thrashed League Two side Crewe 6-1 to reach the Carabao Cup third round.

Ezri Konsa scored four minutes into his debut for the Premier League team before Conor Hourihane’s double made it 3-0 at half-time at Gresty Road.

Keinan Davis and Frederic Guilbert’s first Villa goal extended their lead in the second half.

Ryan Wintle pulled a goal back for Crewe before Jack Grealish’s late low drive completed a convincing win for Dean Smith’s side.

Smith made 10 changes from the team that claimed their first Premier League win of the season against Everton on Friday, including handing debuts to Konsa, Matt Targett and Marvelous Nakamba.

He was rewarded with a clinical performance as Villa scored with six of their seven efforts on target.

Konsa, a £12m signing from Brentford, scored a close-range header after Crewe failed to clear a short corner.

Crewe, sixth in League Two, thought they had equalised when Owen Dale’s headed home Chris Porter’s flick-on, but the effort was disallowed for offside.

Hourihane doubled Villa’s lead after good work from Jota and Henri Lansbury before heading home Anwar El Ghazi’s left-wing cross in first half stoppage time.

Grealish replaced the impressive Jota after 68 minutes and within a minute had set up Villa’s fourth, his low cross from the left converted by Davis for his first goal in 19 months.

Fellow substitute Guilbert, on for the injured Targett, curled home a fine effort from Lansbury’s short corner to make it 5-0.

Crewe, who had 17 shots at goal, finally pulled a goal back when Wintle drove low into the corner.

Grealish completed the scoring with a powerful low effort from inside the area with three minutes left after more good play by Lansbury down the left.

*Aston Villa boss Dean Smith:*

”It wasn’t as safe as the scoreline suggested - Crewe made a game if it.

“But I thought we were very, very clinical and our quality showed, particularly with our second goal. After that we were very good and ran away with it.

“Only Jota kept his place so there were a lot of players who haven’t played since pre-season, but everyone knew their jobs, roles and responsibilities. Their application was first-class and they deserved that result.”
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*The Guardian*
*Tuesday 27 August 2019*

“Aston Villa show their class in comfortable win over Crewe”

Aston Villa coasted into the Carabao Cup third round, Dean Smith’s team soaking up some early pressure from Crewe before their class allowed them to pull away with ease.

The manager was proud of his team’s approach. “I wanted to make sure the attitude was right and show the importance of what [the competition] is. We play for three trophies in a season – this, the FA Cup and the Premier League.

“They caused us some problems, Dave [Artell] has got a young bright team here. Six-one is a really good result.”

This was the fifth meeting of the sides, all taking place in knockout games, Crewe’s best result a 2-2 draw in January 1975 in this competition.

Artell gave a debut to Rio Adebisi, an 18-year-old who lined up at left-back as one of four changes to League Two team. Smith retained only Jota of the side that defeated Everton on Friday. Marvelous Nakamba, Ezri Konsa and Matt Targett making their debuts. Kortney Hause’s appearance was a first in Villa colours since joining permanently, the 24-year-old defender previously featuring for the club as a loanee from Wolves.

Crewe’s Callum Ainley soon went down the right and placed a cross on to Charlie Kirk’s head but the blond forward could not keep the ball down, a miss soon to prove costly.

Villa moved up the other end and a scramble ensued. Adebisi failed to clear when he should have done so and Konsa was able to direct his header past the Crewe goalkeeper, David Richards.

Crewe were contributing to a fast-paced tie. Owen Dale posed problems down the Villa right and Konsa needlessly headed the ball out for a corner in response to the home side’s pressure. When the set piece came in Chris Porter forced a sharp save from Jed Steer and the concession of a second corner, this one from the opposite side. The ball was played in and eventually Dale touched home from the goalline but he was ruled offside, the strike may have been legal without his intervention.

Next up, Kirk warmed Steer’s fingers and the raucous crowd sensed an equaliser was coming. But instead disaster struck Crewe: Lansbury was allowed time by a slumbering defence and he found Conor Hourihane, who slid the ball into an empty goal, Richards’s positioning leaving him marooned.

Villa now started to stroke the ball around and close to half-time Anwar El Ghazi found Hourihane who finished coolly for his second.

This meant Crewe were surely going out and Villa could enjoy the rest of the contest. Ainley was the first to offer a second-half threat, though his shot was off target and when Dale was put clear he, too, missed badly, to the keeper’s right.

This had been the difference: Crewe were profligate, Villa far more ruthless. When Richards – who was having a difficult evening – dallied near his six-yard box Lansbury came close to pickpocketing the keeper and embarrassing him. The lead came close to moving to four when El Ghazi raced in but his careful attempt cannoned off the left post.

The sense was that Villa toyed with their opponents, moving around in second gear. So it was that when they applied the throttle the end result was a close-range goal by Keinan Davis.

The substitutes Frédéric Guilbert and Jack Grealish completed the scoring for the five-times winners, Ryan Wintle securing a consolation

Artell offered a honest appraisal. “We played well in patches, soft as crap in others,” he said. “The gulf in class was there at times, certainly towards the end.”