Vassell back to haunt O’Leary

Manchester City 3 Aston Villa 1

Vassell bagged a first-half brace to lead Manchester City’s march into the Premiership’s top four, leaving Villa precariously placed on the fringes of a relegation fight on the day a ‘preliminary approach’ for the midlands club by the Comer Homes Group was confirmed.

In the build-up to Vassell’s first game against his former club since his €3 million summer move north, O’Leary insisted he had no regrets about selling the England forward.

The Irishman quickly had cause to regret those words as within 26 minutes Vassell had scored more times in a single game than O’Leary’s preferred strike force of Milan Baros and Juan Pablo Angel have managed between them all season.

O’Leary’s problems started before kick-off when Thomas Sorensen twisted an ankle in the warm-up, forcing O’Leary to hand stand-in ‘keeper Stuart Taylor his first Premiership start since May 2003.

The former Arsenal man barely had time to settle into the game before his goal was breached in the most ridiculous manner imaginable.

There was no imminent danger to the Villa defence when Sylvain Distin launched a long, hopeful ball forward. On his own up front, Vassell did well to get his head to it.

The striker deserves credit for following up his own efforts but even he could not have anticipated Jlloyd Samuel’s failure to spot Taylor advancing out of his box, an error he compounded by heading past his ‘keeper, allowing Vassell to run on and tap into an empty net.

After enduring such a ludicrous start, O’Leary must have thought it could not get any worse for Villa. But it did, both in his team’s performance and on the scoresheet.

Liam Ridgewell had a particularly tortuous evening in the heart of the visitors’ defence and had already been turned once by Vassell on his way to smashing a shot against the post, when Andy Cole exposed the young defender with a marvellous piece of skill.

A deft first touch allowed Cole to flick Danny Mills’ chipped pass over Ridgewell’s head, then the former England international kept his cool to lob a ball into Vassell’s path and he dispatched a superb right-footed volley which flew into the bottom corner.

Villa were lucky not to be further adrift at the interval, although a fingertip save from another old boy, David James, to deny James Milner at least offered some hope of a

fightback.

The interval introduction of Patrick Berger for Samuel certainly made a difference.

It was the Czech international’s industry which created Villa’s goal as he chased down a wayward Milner cross, then drilled the ball over for Ridgewell to bundle home.

Unfortunately for O’Leary, Berger lasted less than half an hour before he limped out of the action.

Cole’s match-sealing effort continued the farce for O’Leary as he saw the striker’s shot loop skywards off Delaney’s outstretched leg, over Taylor and into the net.

MAN CITY: James, Mills, Sommeil (Jihai 45), Distin, Jordan, Croft (Sibierski 69), Barton, Ireland, Musampa, Cole (Wright-Phillips 85), Vassell.

ASTON VILLA: Taylor, Delaney, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Samuel (Berger 45), ilner, Davis, McCann, Barry, Phillips, Moore (Bakke 71), Berger (Djemba-Djemba 75).

Referee: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire).