Paul McGrath column: Aston Villa can take heart from Manchester United defeat
Apr 9 2009 By Paul McGrath
VILLA can take plenty of positives from their heart-breaking defeat at Manchester United – not least the performance of Nicky Shorey.
They say a little goes a long way and the little left-back has gone a long way to proving his critics wrong with his display at Old Trafford.
It must have been daunting for a player who has not played a single Premier League game since November to step into a high pressure game like that.
A few run-outs in the cup competitions is scant preparation for facing the might of Manchester United and marking a world-beater like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Shorey has been a bit unlucky not to have played more first-team games for Villa in my opinion since signing from Reading for £3.5 million last summer.
Admittedly, he made a few mistakes while he was still settling in, but he showed at Old Trafford that he has plenty to offer while Wilfred Bouma is injured.
I know it sounds stupid to say Shorey marked Ronaldo out of the game when the Portuguese playmaker scored two of United’s goals in the 3-2 win.
But other than the brace, neither of which Shorey could have done anything about, Ronaldo hardly got a touch, which is a credit to the diminutive defender.
