View: Five stunning Aston Villa goals that will brighten up your New Year’s Eve
Aston Villa fans have witnessed some special goals over the years, and it would be rude not to celebrate them as Unai Emery’s side enter 2023.
Currently sitting twelfth in the Premier League, and with the January transfer window fast approaching, a move up the Premier League table is firmly on the club’s mind.
The Spaniard should look to draw some inspiration from these five stunning goals, which, all in their own way, brought the Claret and Blue faithful some incredible moments of magic.
Alan Hutton v Birmingham City (2018)
Where else could I start?
Alan Hutton’s crowning moment as Aston Villa’s cult hero was confirmed by his magnificent solo goal in the Second City Derby.
Picking up the ball deep inside his own half, the right-back surged through a posse of Birmingham defenders with alarming ease before suddenly standing one on one with Lee Camp to beat.
Instead of taking a shot with his favoured right foot, he decided to chop onto his left before cooly rolling the ball past the advancing Blues keeper to send the Holte End into a dream state.
Dion Dublin v Tottenham Hotspur (2000)
Dublin scored his fair share of crackers for Aston Villa, but this beauty against Spurs typified his potency in front of goal.
After a pretty ordinary ball was played into the box from Benito Carbone on the right wing, the striker swivelled on a sixpence and hit an acrobatic bicycle kick into the bottom left corner of the net.
The technique on display was second-to-none, and this subline overhead kick is up among the finest of 48 he netted in Claret and Blue.
Stiliyan Petrov v Everton (2011)
The Bulgarian’s strike came in a gripping 2-2 draw against David Moyes’ Everton in the 2010/11 Premier League season.
Receiving the ball from Neil Warnock on the left flank, Petrov allowed the ball to travel across his body before arching his back and whipping an unstoppable curling stop beyond the reaches of Tim Howard.
Considering his sad finish to life at Villa Park, this is a brilliant moment to remember the midfielder by.
Matt Lowton v Stoke City (2015)
Aston Villa looked to be in serious relegation trouble in the penultimate month of the 2012/13 season and were drawing 1-1 against relegation rivals Stoke before Lowton took matters into his own hands.
From a Villa corner, Charlie Adam hacked the ball away from the penalty area when from around 30 yards out, Lowton controlled the ball on his chest and hit a dipping right-footed volley beyond Asmir Begovic in the Potters’ net.
Considering the right-back was being closed down from all angles, how he managed to squeeze the shot through the bodies remains a mystery.
The context, meaning and importance of this goal to Aston Villa was almost as amusing as the strike itself.
John McGinn v Sheffield Wednesday (2018)
There’s no topping McGinn’s exquisite volley, I’m afraid.
Waiting outside the box following a looped clearance, the ball fell from a great height onto McGinn’s left boot, which in turn, unleashed a stunning first-time strike.
The TV angle from behind shows a picture-perfect technique from the Scot, with the ball starting on a line outside the goal before bending into the top corner with unerring precision.
The goal made Paul Scholes’ famous volley against the Villans look like mere child’s play and will live long in the memories of the fans attending that day.
I’ll let the video do the rest of the talking.
In other Aston Villa news, Kaine Kesler-Hayden can play second fiddle to Matty Cash in 2023/24 season under Unai Emery.