Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz stunned many after scoring directly from a corner at Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup Second Round.
Steven Gerrard’s side fell behind at the League One outfit, only to then draw level courtesy of Luiz’s surprise effort in the 36th minute.
Danny Ings, Lucas Digne and Leon Bailey also got on the scoresheet in the second half to make it a comfortable night’s work for Villa.
But it was Luiz who stole the headlines, completely catching out the Bolton backline and goalkeeper Joel Dixon, with Stevie G saying it was no fluke.
DOUGLAS LUIZ SCORES DIRECTLY FROM THE CORNER 🤯🎯 pic.twitter.com/nbCBkigngu
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 23, 2022
Just like we planned. 👌 @DGOficial pic.twitter.com/FcAoypy9mc
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 24, 2022
He swung his corner kit from the left side and curled the ball right into the top corner with some quite incredible precision.
Dixon had moved off his line and wasn’t expecting such a delivery from the Brazilian, he tried to push it away but the ball looped over him and took everyone off guard.
Luiz’s celebration also hinted that this was normal for him, with this corner kick goal going from practice to perfect and even came close with the same type of effort later on in the game.
He scored exactly the same goal in training the day before the trip to Bolton, but Villa fans who watched their pre-season outings will be aware that he’s done it before.
In a 4-0 victory over local rivals Walsall last month, Luiz went for it and whipped the ball right over the goalkeeper as he scrambled to keep it out, as you can see below…
Douglas Luiz fez um gol olímpico em Walsall 0-4 Aston Villa, primeiro amistoso de pré-temporada. Mas o meu goleiro, hein…pic.twitter.com/mhe9GmmTW0
— Non Sense Football (@_NSenseFootball) July 9, 2022
Steven Gerrard was delighted to secure Aston Villa’s progress in the Carabao Cup courtesy of a 4-1 triumph at Bolton Wanderers.
“That’s what we wanted, we wanted to be in the hat,” Gerrard told VillaTV. “We’re really excited and looking forward to the draw.
“We came here extremely motivated.
“It was a bit of a setback going a goal behind. I thought the game was a little bit too much end-to-end for our liking, we wanted more pockets of control.
“But I thought they worked extremely hard and played at an intensity, they tried to stay with us, and they did for large parts of the first half.
“I think our fitness and our quality in the second half told, and my senior players drove the standards.
“I’m really happy with the result and the outcome of the game.”
“The fans showed their intent, they travelled here in their numbers, they got behind the team and showed me and us how important it is to them,” Gerrard added.
“And that’s the reason why I wanted to go strong.
“I didn’t think it was necessary to go wholesale (changes), this is an important competition for us and we want to do as well as we can in it.”
He said on Luiz’s goal: “I can guarantee everyone that was no fluke because I saw exactly the same thing yesterday.
“In less than 24 hours he has done the same thing twice.”
Boss Ian Evatt felt Wanderers deserved better than a three-goal defeat on a big cup night for the club.
“The roof came off the stadium at that point and we thought we were in for a good night,” said Evatt.
“I thought we deserved to be in front. For 60 minutes we showed what a good team we can be.
“We were trying to play on the front foot and I think we gave them a good test.
“I think 4-1 is probably a bit harsh. For 60 minutes we were right in the game and I thought we caused them some problems.
“The players should take an immense amount of credit for giving them a run for their money for so long.
“For us now it’s about enjoying what tonight was – a great learning curve for everybody, myself included, and make sure we’re ready for the league campaign on Saturday.”
“They paid us the ultimate respect of playing their first team,” added the Wanderers’ manager.
“I don’t think many teams would go head-to-head with a Premier League team like we did.
“There was maybe an offside (for the second goal) and that gave them confidence and some belief back and they were excellent for the last 20 minutes or so.
“But it was a great learning curve for our players and a great occasion.
“It’s great we’re having these occasions and being in the Press for the right reasons.
“I really enjoyed watching it and watching them play with some top players in their team.
“It was a good game and we will learn from it.”
There was a lot of reaction with Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz stunned after scoring directly from a corner at Bolton…
@chrispaint1972: Can we now start practicing defending set pieces. Thanks
@AvfcTalkTime: Start him Sunday and do this every corner – easy 😍
@liam_davies7: Douglas Luiz has a total of 27 minutes in the Premier League btw. He’s our best midfielder.
@LukeKing_: Fair play to him what a goal
@JayVtid: Can’t wait to see half the West Ham squad cover the back post on Sunday
@TomAVFC_44: Villa doing set pieces right? Impossible!
@AstonMarsh94: Douglas Luiz is our best player when playing in an advanced role #AVFC
@Benavfc__: Good goal from Luiz but he won’t start Sunday because his name isn’t Mcginn
@AVFC_Aston: Gonna show my kids a compilation of Douglas Luiz they’ll think he’s one of the best midfielders in history
@LFCJack_96: Douglas Luiz banging one in from a corner 😂
— Olivia🌸 (@789_liv) August 23, 2022

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