Dean Smith has a difficult selection choice ahead of him after this man’s performance – opinion | OneFootball

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith made a bold decision at the back in the sides 2-1 win over Leicester City on Tuesday night which helped to see the hosts through to the Carabao Cup final, where they will meet either Manchester City or Manchester United. The Villans manager elected to start Orjan Nyland ahead of Pepe Reina in goal and the decision was a rousing success as he made a string of outstanding saves to ensure the hosts progressed to their first domestic cup final since 2015.

Nyland has made just three Premier League appearances in his career to date, and they have not all gone to plan. The Norwegian is yet to record a clean sheet in the top-flight of English football and has conceded eight in his three matches, averaging 2.6 goals per game.

Further evidence Smith’s decision was incredibly bold is that Aston Villa have lost two-thirds of the Premier League matches that Nyland has been between the sticks for, so the odds on Tuesday evening panning out as well as it did for the goalkeeper were slim.

Meanwhile, Reina is at the other end of the experience spectrum, and the Spaniard has made 287 Premier League appearances, keeping 134 clean sheets. The on-loan stopper would have been a much safer choice and he has also won the League Cup while at Liverpool in 2012, but Smith’s bravery to opt instead for the man who has started their past two Carabao Cup matches proved to be the correct decision.

The next major decision the Aston Villa boss will have to make is who starts the final in over a month. Nyland has now been entrusted with keeping out Liverpool, although the Reds made a host of changes, and has twice produced the goods against Leicester City. With the prospect of either Manchester City or Manchester United on the horizon, will Smith hold his nerve to select the Norweigian once more? Reina is vastly more experienced in major finals, having won the FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Coppa Italia, along with his League Cup victory, but it would be a crushing blow to Villa’s hero of Tuesday evening.

Regardless of who Smith selects in the final, Nyland produced a fine performance to see Aston Villa through, and he has been rightly lauded for an excellent evening’s work.