Tim Sherwood has taken a team to the FA Cup final. Let that sink in.
His “system” was enough to break down Brendan Rodgers’ “philosophy” as a Fabian Delph goal was the deciding factor during today’s semi-final.
The afternoon looked to be going the way of Liverpool when Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring on the half-hour mark before Christian Benteke leveled proceedings up.
But Delph was the man who came up with the strike after half-time which was enough to earn Aston Villa a place in the FA Cup final for the first time since 2000.
Aston Villa
Given: Throwback
Bacuna: Dogged
Baker: Headache
Vlaar: Commanding
Richardson: Clearance
Westwood: Industrious
Delph: Architect
Cleverley: Amateur
Grealish: Hair-raising
N’Zogbia: Overshadowed
Benteke: Complete
Substitutes:
Okore: Unprepared
Sinclair: Fresh
Cole: Legs
Liverpool
Mignolet: Present
Can: Adequate
Skrtel: Cranky
Lovren: Overpriced
Moreno: Naive
Allen: Nimble
Henderson: Hapless
Gerrard: Galaxy
Markovic: Anonymous
Coutinho: Flashes
Sterling: Lukewarm
Substitutes
Balotelli: Usual
Johnson: Bizarre
Lambert: Helpless
