Two star players on the verge of moves to bigger clubs from Crystal Palace and Aston Villa respectively reflected the state of the spirit within their camps as Marc Guéhi’s memorable strike rubber-stamped the Londoners’ latest triumph over the West Midlanders.
We will never know whether Emiliano Martínez would have saved it as the Villa goalkeeper was unavailable for selection amid reports of Manchester United’s renewed interest.
The Palace fans serenaded their potentially departing hero by singing “Marc Guéhi, I wanna know how you scored that goal” after their captain followed a run out from defence by curling home a beautiful shot into the top corner for 2-0 midway through the second half.
If the England defender is leaving for Liverpool on Monday, then what a farewell gift. Palace dispatched Villa by this scoreline at Wembley on their way to winning the FA Cup in May in a run of 14 games unbeaten. They have won five and drawn one of their last six games with these opponents over the past two years. Villa, losing their year-long unbeaten home run in the Premier League, are yet to score this season. Their miserable summer’s transfer activity is under an even harsher spotlight.
On the eve of the transfer deadline, fans’ interest was piqued by the release of the teamsheets. Guéhi, the subject of a £35m bid from Liverpool, was once again named as the Palace captain.
