Valencia wrecks Villa

Luis Antonio Valencia assured Wigan of their Premier League survival and all but guaranteed Villa's hopes of finishing fifth are over.
Jason Koumas was described as the man of the moment for the visitors in the matchday programme, but it was Ecuadorian Valencia who stole the show.
The tricky winger scored two goals inside 11 second half minutes to crush the party atmosphere at Villa Park.
The day was supposed to mark Olof Mellberg's last appearance in front of the adoring Holte End but the Villa faithful were left demoralised by a poor performance from his teammates.
After a valiant display at Everton last Sunday, Villa were anything but against a strong and determined Wigan side.
Steve Bruce had lost to Martin O'Neill twice this season and his side epitomised their manager's burning desire to claim a much needed moral victory.
The game started in a surprisingly flat fashion considering the immense hype surrounding the occasion.
Mellberg played in a marauding state of mind in front of the smattering of yellow Sweden shirts that highlighted the stands.
But the even the Villa legend couldn't inspire his teammates in a first half devoid of goalscoring opportunities.
Villa did manage to test Chris Kirkland on a couple of occasions through headers from Zat Knight and Gabby Agbonlahor.
The on form Agbonlahor saw his header tipped on to the bar by Kirkland who put in a fine performance.
Wigan failed to force Scott Carson into action at all in the first 45 minutes and looked content to walk away with a point that would keep them in the Premier League.

Crumbling

They started the second half on the back foot but against the run of play the visitors took the lead.
Valencia faced up to four Villa defenders but they were left powerless as the winger's shot hit Wilfred Bouma and flew agonisingly past the bamboozled Scott Carson.
The goal looked to have panicked Villa but they were devoid of ideas and Patrick Berger was brought on.
Berger replaced Zat Knight which pushed Nigel Reo-Coker to right back and the defensive reshuffle caused confusion which Wigan instantly capitalised on.
The elegant Valencia was again the man who benefited as he latched onto an Emile Heskey flick and finished with complete composure.The Villa players looked horrified as all the hard work of recent weeks seemed to be crumbling in front of them.
Their response was limited and even super sub Marlon Harewood couldn't conjure a goal.
Agbonlahor was again denied by the inspired Kirkland and when John Carew missed a free header the Villa faithful knew it wasn't to be their day.
For the man to whom the day was dedicated, a fond farewell beckoned at the final whistle, but this was not the parting shot Olof Mellberg was dreaming of.