The Holy Trinity: Aston Villa conclusions from friendly draw v Nashville

Villa's pre-season American adventure ends with honours even in Tennessee

The pre-season mini-tour in the United States concluded with a 2-2 draw against Nashville on Saturday and there are three friendlies left to play before the start of the 2025/26 season.

Aston Villa get their Premier League campaign underway against Newcastle United and their latest preparatory game saw their players survive some interesting challenges from the Major League Soccer outfit but throw away a 2-0 lead.

Ollie Watkins scored another header and Donyell Malen grabbed his first goal of pre-season with a ruthless chop back onto his right foot and an emphatic finish.

Other positives included Lamare Bogarde showing once again that he’s a very useful ball carrier, Emiliano Martínez putting in another fine performance and keeping a clean sheet, and Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba looking physically capable of handling robust opposition.