Analysis: Excitement levels rise after Aston Villa's season explodes into life

After an opening hour against Everton on Saturday which often mirrored the frustration and uncertainty the first month of the season, Villa exploded into life.

Three goals in nine exhilarating minutes saw the Toffees blown away and ensured Dean Smith’s team head into a trio of testing away fixtures at Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham with a spring in their step.

For supporters, meanwhile, came confirmation not only will there be life beyond Jack Grealish, it has the potential to be pretty exciting too.

In Leon Bailey, they have a player already well on the way to achieving hero status thanks to his electric pace and playing style.

The Jamaica international’s third substitute appearance since his £25million move from Bayer Leverkusen was comfortably his most effective to date.

Bailey, admittedly, played no part in the fine team move which led to Matty Cash’s 66th minute opener. But it was his wicked corner delivery three minutes later which forced Lucas Digne to put through his own net, before he completed the demolition job with a left-footed strike so violent it may have caused the quad injury which forced him to leave the field after just 20 minutes, albeit mission completed.

Hopefully the problem is not too serious because Bailey, for all that he has been limited to cameo appearances thus far, looks a player capable of delivering box office entertainment.

His goal meant all three of the players signed to replace the departed Grealish are off the mark five matches into the Premier League season. Danny Ings, who scored in the first two games of the season, is now three matches without a goal but he played a key role in Cash’s opener before then setting up Bailey with a super lofted pass from inside his own half.

Record buy Emi Buendia, meanwhile, remained on the bench having only arrived back in the UK around 15 hours before kick-off following his international travails with Argentina.

That was particularly significant, as Saturday delivered the clearest evidence yet of Villa’s increased strength in depth. Surely never before in club history has a manager named such an expensive and strong collection of substitutes? Whereas last season there was a sense Villa were lacking for game-changers, that is no longer the case, as Bailey proved in such devastating fashion.

Against an Everton team who, it must be noted, were missing several key players, it was the home side’s extra firepower which proved the difference and helped them achieve a win which in the context of the early season felt important.

Much as Smith had brushed aside the notion of laying down a marker against opponents who also harbour ambitions of European football, Villa went into the match needing to back up the encouragement of a performance at Chelsea the previous weekend which had delivered plaudits but no points.

Their display here, in truth, was some way from perfect. For much of the evening, Villa had a look of a team still figuring it out in attack. Yet the win and the thrilling nature in which it was achieved means they will head back to Stamford Bridge for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie and to Old Trafford in the Premier League next weekend with the pressure considerably eased.

For all that they huffed and puffed before Cash broke the deadlock, Villa’s victory also owed much to finding the ruthlessness lacking a week previously. On Saturday, they registered just three attempts on target with two resulting in goals, Tyrone Mings bringing a stunning reflex save from Asmir Begovic with the other. Everton’s goalkeeper, making his first Premier League start for more than two years in place of the injured Jordan Pickford, was unable to repeat his heroics later when Digne inadvertently helped Bailey’s corner on its way toward goal.

Mings might not have made the scoresheet but seven days on from a costly error in the defeat at Chelsea he delivered an excellent captain’s performance which left him vying with the relentless Cash for the man-of-the-match prize. Both played their part in Villa keeping their second clean sheet of the campaign.

Smith’s decision to stick with the three-man defensive system which had worked so well at Chelsea looked questionable for a long time here as his team struggled to make headway. Ultimately, the Villa boss was rewarded for his boldness, introducing Bailey as a direct replacement for Matt Targett at left wing-back. In an instant, Villa were far more dynamic and the benefits of the formation were underlined by Cash being in such an advanced position to race on to a perfectly-weighted pass from Douglas Luiz and hammer in his first goal for the club.

Finding a way to utilise the attacking talents at his disposal is the challenge for Smith, who will be forced into at least one change next week at Manchester United with Axel Tuanzebe unable to face his parent club. To this point, there has been no sign of a natural chemistry between Ings and Ollie Watkins, though it remains early days.

Guessing Villa’s starting XI is increasingly tricky for observers, supporters and – most crucially – opposing managers. Competition for places among players, meanwhile, looks set to be particularly fierce, with the likes of Buendia and Bertrand Traore facing a fight to stake their claim.

Early in the season, Villa might still be termed a work in progress but after Saturday’s fireworks there would appear plenty to be excited about.