Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Sports Reporter – ZIMBABWE international midfielder Marvelous Nakamba celebrated his 50th appearance for English Premier League side Aston Villa in style after playing a starring role in their 2-1 win over Chelsea.
The match was played Sunday at Villa Park and was Villa’s final game of the season.
The hardworking defensive midfielder was rewarded for his solid performance when he started last midweek’s win over Tottenham by retaining his place in the starting line-up against the visitors.
And the Warriors star did not disappoint after putting in an assured 90 minutes performance in the midfield anchor role alongside Scotsman John McGinn.
Aston Villa secured a deserved win, courtesy of goals by Bertrand Traore, and an Anwar El Ghazi penalty while Chelsea got their consolation goal from Ben Chilwell.
After the match, Nakamba took to Twitter to express his delight after reaching a special milestone by making a half-century of appearances for Villa since joining the club in August 2019 from Belgian side Club Brugge.
“Very proud to make my 50th appearance for this great club. Excellent result today to end the season on a high. Thanks to our amazing fans for their continuous support,” Nakamba said.
The Zimbabwe international was one of the star players for Villa as he thwarted Chelsea’s attacks all afternoon.
He was so impressive that the Birmingham Mail newspaper gave him a rating of 9/10 in their post-match analysis of the game.
“In for his 50th appearance at Villa since his summer arrival in 2019, with Nakamba in alongside John McGinn for the second successive match. The Zimbabwean put in a brilliant and brave block to thwart Mason Mount early on and remained disciplined throughout,” the Birmingham Mail wrote.
“Nakamba put in a string of body-on-the-line challenges and last-ditch tackles as he kept Chelsea’s talented midfield and attack at bay. Loved his work today in midfield and boy did he cover some ground. Superb. Starman.”
