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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barry Glendenning

Villa face their toughest test … recovering from their parade in time to face City

Party time in Birmingham as Aston Villa fans prepare for the Bigger Vase victory parade. Make Ozzy proud.
Party time in Birmingham as Aston Villa fans prepare for the Bigger Vase victory parade. Make Ozzy proud. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

SORE HEADS, FULL HEARTS, CAN’T LOSE

With the Arsenal Fun Boat having finally docked at its destination on Tuesday after a 22-year voyage, attention on Wednesday turned to Aston Villa’s Crazy Train as its passengers alighted in Istanbul. Having passed away last summer, Ozzy Osbourne, whose famous anthem serves as Villa’s walk-on music, was not present to see his team lift Bigger Vase but the ease with which they strolled to victory would certainly have met with his approval. In spanking three goals without reply past Freiberg, Unai Emery’s side ended a trophy drought that stretched back 30 years and for their Spanish manager it marked a fifth success in the competition with three different teams. It is a state of affairs rendered all the more remarkable by the weird quirk that each of them has ‘villa’ in their names.

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