They may have to wait for their first win of the season but, on this evidence, Ipswich are not far off. They denied Aston Villa the chance to move level on points with Liverpool at the Premier League summit with a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Portman Road, a goal from Liam Delap in each half cancelling out strikes from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins.
For fans who lived through the clubs’ 80s glory days, this meeting was imbued with deep nostalgia. With Villa dining at Europe’s top table for the first time since the 1982‑83 campaign – the season after their underdog European Cup triumph, and two seasons after they last won the league as Ipswich finished runners-up under Bobby Robson – there were echoes of history everywhere.
