Aston Villa are through to the Carabao Cup third round after claiming a 6-1 win at Gresty Road, against Crewe.
Dean Smith made wholesale changes to the side with many first-teamers being rested.
Keinan Davis, Jack Grealish and a Conor Hourihane double supplemented debut goals for Frederic Guilbert and Ezri Konsa.
Villa take an early lead
Former Charlton man – Konsa – opened the nights scoring by turning in his centre back partner – Kortney Hause’s – cut back. Konsa headed home his first for the club on the fourth minute.
Hourihane then grabbed two of his own before the interval. The impressive Jota supplied Henri Lansbury from deep. With good awareness, Lansbury passed towards Hourihane who guided the ball into an empty net.
On the stroke of half time, the midfielder added a third for Villa. Anwar El Ghazi’s accurate cross from the left flank was met by Hourihane. The Ireland international headed in from yards out as Keinan Davis came close to his first goal since early 2018.
Impressive Keinan
Though, the young forward did bag his deserved goal on the 70th minute. After Jack Grealish’s introduction, Villa’s captain put his stamp on proceedings, beating two Crewe players before flashing across the box for Davis to finish.
Ten minutes later, Guilbert made the most of the hosts’ sloppy defending, as he bent in an effort towards the top corner. A fitting way to end his second appearance for the club.
Crewe did, however, manage a goal of their own to appease the home fans. Ryan Wintle weaved beyond both Marvelous Nakamba and Guilbert before striking low beyond Jed Steer in the Aston Villa goal.
Before the game’s end, Grealish restored Villa’s five-goal advantage after clever work from Lansbury once more. Exhibiting his class throughout the game, Lansbury’s backheel was the product that epitomised his stellar performance, as Grealish met the pass and struck a sixth for Villa.
Villa hadn’t claimed a higher winning margin since 2005, beating Wycombe 8-3.
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