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AVFC NEWS: Justice records another victory as plenty of new faces arrive at Villa Park

Aston Villa have been very active in the transfer window since the arrival of Nick Justice as manager, and they've been at it again in the last few days! We heard of the arrivals of Lacazette from SSC Napoli and Villanueva from Malaga earlier this week; but the owner have put their hands in their pockets again and backed the English gaffer once again.

This time it saw a multiple number of player both arrive, and depart the club! We knew that Villa had to invest into their defence and they once more did just that, with the arrivals of Michael Hefele, Jamal Lascelles and Ben Mee. It's also expected that Emil Krafth will arrive from Italian side this afternoon, that the defence for the first team improved but he's also acted fast to amend the defence of his U-21 side by bringing in former FC Twente man Joachim Andersen(21) and exciting former AZ Alkmaar prodigy Owen Wijnal(17)- With these arrivals its very much been highlighted that the Villa manager is looking to bring down the age of his side to build for a sustainable future at the club.

Justice has also improved the rest of his side since his arrival and he has looked to sharpen  the midfield, with the recent arrival of Alfred Duncan, the 24-year-old is set to star in Villa next league fixture alongside club captain Mark Noble. 

The final addition is the arrival of Callum Wilson who came along with his former team-mate Jamal Lascelles in a deal that saw Domagoj Vida move in the opposite direction! The other players to leave the club in recent days are, Martin De Roon and Sahin Nuri; both of whom were wished the very best by the club on their departures. 

We caught up with Justice to discuss all the latest transfers to get his insight and thoughts on the business he has conducted thus far, " I'm delighted that I have been able to come in and make my mark of the side and bring in some players I've loved and enjoyed working with previously. When I first arrived here I sat down with each player individually and said what the task in hand was to get this club moving back in the right direction, some of them said to me gaffer 'I want to go' and I couldn't keep players here that no longer wanted to wear the claret and blue of this club and play for the badge on the front of the shirt!We have now allowed them players to leave the club and bring in guys that actually want to play and do their upmost for us at this time as we look to climb up the league standings!"

Jamal Lascelles one of many recent arrivals at Villa Park in a big overhaul thus far by new gaffer Nick Justice

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MATCH-DAY 20: VILLA VICTORIOUS ONCE MORE UNDER JUSTICE

ASTON VILLA 3-1 SAO PAULO

GOAL SCORERS: WAHBI KHAZRI (5,18) DERLIS GONZALEZ(35)/ WILLIAM NEM(69)

STADIUM: VILLA PARK (43,473)

Villa Park was sold out for this one, as Villa played host to Brazilian giants Sao Paulo

Justice took charge of his second league game as his side played host to one of Brazil's elite Sao Paulo in their Division three fixture. Villa came into the game knowing a win could bring them out of the drop zone for the first time in quite a few weeks!

You could forgive both fans for being anxious as both sides are in rather compromising positions this season, with Villa sitting 17th in the table before kick-off and Sao Paulo one spot below in 18th- both seemingly in a battle for survival at the mid-way point of the season. Although there isn't a massive gap between the bottom four and the top half of the table, so everyone involved in this match knew a win for either side could give them a real boost and chance to start climbing the table.

It was an evening kick-off of 20:00 and the stadium was filling out very nicely, as Villa took kick-off in the game.

It was a lively start from the home side and they made an early breakthrough when in-form Wahbi Khazri struck in the fifth minute of the game! The former Sunderland man has really come good thus far in Justice's rein at the club being a huge influence in his league debut victory. The opening ten minutes were all Villa as they continued to press the Sao Paulo back-line and continued to pile on the pressure; it was to pay off very shortly when yet again, Wahbi Khazri smashed one home, for his second of the game and Villa second to make it 2-0 to the home side within the first fifteen minutes of the game.

The first-half was very much a dominant display from the midland-based side as they continued to try and break down the Sao Paulo defence at every opportunity and it seemed only a matter of time before the home side would get their next goal of the game. 

In the thirty fifth minute of the game, Villa struck once more and this time it was through Paraguay international Derlis Gonzalez! The 23-year-old finished smartly to put the game pretty much out of Sao Paulo's reach. It was a surprise it was only three by the half time whistle, but it was to end 3-0 at the interval.

H/T: 3-0

The second half got underway and the traveling fans were hoping to see more out of their players, having made the long trip on a Thursday evening. But it wasn't to be as the second half started much the same as the first half ended; Aston Villa very much on top of the match.

It wasn't till around the sixty minute mark when the away team started to apply some pressure of their own and it soon paid off for them when Brazilian winger William Nem struck a goal back in the 69th minute! Game on?

Nope! It wasn't to be for the travelling contingency this time as they didn't really show any kind of fight to get back into the game and instead found themselves on the back foot once more! Luckily for both the team and their travelling fans their pain wasn't to be made worse as the game finished 3-1 to the home side and very much so deserved, in what could have easily been a 6 or 7-1 scoreline.

F/T: 3-1

Derlis Gonzalez was the stand out star in a 3-1 victory for his team, scoring and assisting his team-mate Wahbi Khazri