Jack Grealish’s goal in the 67th minute was enough to see Villa collect three very valuable points against fierce local rivals Birmingham City at St. Andrew’s.
However, the only thing that the game will be remembered for is the disgusting attack on Grealish. The Villa captain had helped earned his side a corner in the 11th minute, and then, when his back was turned, a Birmingham City fan ran onto the pitch and punched him in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor.
The man was immediately arrested and led away, but it left a dark cloud hanging over the remainder of the match. Hopefully he will spend some time in jail to think about his cowardly actions and will be banned from football stadiums all over the country.
Grealish, to his immense credit, brushed himself down and got on with the game, and should have had an assist to his name in the first-half, but Anwar El Ghazi couldn’t find the net.
The second-half was an even affair until Dean Smith brought on John McGinn and Andre Green. These two players turned the game in Villa’s favour and four minutes later, Grealish fired home the winner from the edge of the box.
Birmingham had a couple of late chances to nick a point, but they fluffed their lines.
Here are our player ratings for today’s derby:
