The fanfare was certainly out and about this week when Aston Villa overcame their competition in Leicester City to advance to Wembley for the Carabao Cup final. The deciding goal was scored by Egypt’s own Mahmoud ‘Trézéguet’ Hassan, although it wasn’t without enormous help from his fellow Egyptian player, Ahmed Elmohamady. The connection between these two Villa players has been touted as quite the catalyst towards sending the team into the finals, where they will face off against either Manchester City or Manchester United.
Could that final goal have been scored if Elmohamady hadn’t been playing? Well, according to Trézéguet, it’s not something that he thinks is possible. The striker revealed how the pair had been practising such a move on the Aston Villa training ground, claiming that whenever Elmohamady gets the ball, he calls out to him in Arabic, “far post”. Of course, this is precisely what happened in the game against Leicester, and it led to the final goal being scored and Aston Villa advancing.
Trézéguet had been brought on as a substitute at the 77th minute during the match, and he went on to pay tribute to the fans who had been right behind the team from the start. Elmohamady, on the other hand, had been brought on as a substitute at the 84th minute by club boss, Dean Smith. Yet, it’s not so often that such a pair of substitutions are able to follow through and make such an impact in a game.
A Perfect End to the Game
There’s little doubt that some people who placed bets on Aston Villa to advance to the final will have been paid out nicely for their efforts. Fortunately, some companies allow their members to bet through a mobile app, such as 22bet. In fact, the 22bet app is something that saw its own fair share of activity surrounding this Carabao Cup event, and the likelihood is that it will do so again when the final match occurs.
Thanks to the tactics and gameplay of Elmohamady and Trézéguet, Aston Villa will see itself appearing at Wembley for the third time in as many seasons. The club has played in each of the last two Championship play-off finals, and they’re now targeting a sixth victory in the League Cup, too. It was last won by Villa in 1996, which proved to be its last major win.
Elmohamady, while being touted as a catalyst for the goal by his Egyptian teammate, also had high praise for Trézéguet. After congratulating him, he went on to say that he always “changes the game when he’s on the pitch”, and this will lead to the striker having his first appearance at Wembley as well.
“We qualified for the final after beating Leicester, who are one of the best three clubs in England”, Elmohamady said. Yet, he said that the team’s focus must now be on the league, as that is where it is struggling to make as big an impact. Villa currently sits in 16th position on the Premier League rankings, holding 25 points after a total of 24 games played. That currently leaves them just two points above the relegation zone. The team’s next game will play out against Bournemouth, which currently rests in 18th position.
