Feature
H Benteke’s maiden soiree in English football probably couldn’t have gone much better
By Jason Connolly
e was described as ‘unplayable’ on his Villa debut by manager, Paul Lambert. Michael Owen tweeted that he was ‘seriously impressed’ by the Belgian forward. He became the first Villa player to surpass 20 goals in a season since Juan Pablo Angel back in 2003-04 and overtook Dwight Yorke’s 18 goal record in a single Premier League campaign with 19 strikes. He finished runner up in the PFA Young Player Award category to Spurs’ talisman, Gareth Bale. All in all, Christian Benteke’s maiden soiree in English football probably couldn’t have gone much better. Talismanic displays following his £7m move from Genk on transfer deadline day in August brought cult status on the Holte End and prompted envious glances from opposing supporters who would love the talented to be playing for them rather than terrorising their defence. From the moment Benteke came on as a second half substitute for Andi Weimann and dinked the ball over Swansea goalkeeper, Michael Vorm before casually stroking the ball in to an empty net to seal a 2-0 victory and Villa’s first win of the season, he showed what shrewd signing he was. He has strength in abundance - glaringly evident in front of the Sky cameras as he shrugged off Chris Smalling like he wasn’t there before picking out Weimann to smash home against eventual champions, Manchester United – along with skill, creativity and top drawer finishing ability shown by his two goals and unbelievable back heel assist for Weimann as he de-
The Villa Times Magazine 19