Not brute force, but controlled aggression wore Villa down, just like last season.

It was exhilerating to see genuine pace and to anticipate breakaways time and time again. We could have had eight! There was one point in the first half when we had the ball in our half and you could just see the break was on - and sure enough three attackers poured forward.

The match was played at electrifying pace for the first quarter of an hour and we were then at it for the rest of the game. Apart from knocks, Warlock didn't need to make one substitution. The effects of pre-season training have been a revelation. Congrats to the backroom staff.

After slagging off Damour on Tuesday, he was a colossus today.....and Mendez-Laing is a powerhouse.

We've truly hit the ground running this season - which I guess was the objective of the exercise...