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Crewe — Aston Villa U21: 4:1, EFL Trophy

EFL Trophy
Crewe D29 Aug · Away Port Vale · 0:0D1 Sep · Home Walsall · 2:2D5 Sep · Home York · 1:1D12 Sep · Away Colchester · 1:1D19 Sep · Home Shrewsbury · 1:1W22 Sep · Home Aston Villa U21 · 4:1
4:1
Finished

Kick-off was BST

Aston Villa U21 L28 Aug · Home Crystal Palace U21 · 0:2L2 Sep · Home Brondby U21 · 0:4D11 Sep · Away Fulham U21 · 3:3W15 Sep · Home Real Sociedad B · 5:1D18 Sep · Home Middlesbrough U21 · 2:2L22 Sep · Away Crewe · 1:4
Venue: Gresty Road (Mornflake Stadium) City: Crewe

In the EFL Trophy game on 22 September 2026, Crewe beat Aston Villa U21 4:1. Match numbers: shots on target 8:5, corners 10:4.

Match report

Crewe U21 beat Aston Villa 4-1 in the EFL Trophy, Group North round two on Tuesday evening. The hosts ran out comfortable winners at their own ground, with Jack Lankester scoring twice in a match where they never looked threatened after the first goal. 3 September 2026 fixture, and they added three more points to a perfect start.

Luke Offord opened the scoring in the thirty-first minute, finishing a well-worked move. Adrien Thibaut doubled the lead just before half-time, catching the Villa defence off guard with a clinical strike. And here's the thing — by then Crewe had already shifted the mood in the stadium, moving from cautious to confident as Villa began to look nervous.

We had called for a home win at 63 per cent confidence, and that prediction held up. Jack Lankester made it three before the break, finding space in the box to slot home. Max Jenner added a fourth in the eighty-fifth minute, and Lankester completed his brace with an eighth-minute strike to seal the result.

The statistics tell a different story from the scoreline. Villa enjoyed 52 per cent possession and created more attacks, yet they managed only five shots on target compared to Crewe's eight. Both sides failed to produce a single big chance, which suggests the goals came from opportunistic moments rather than sustained pressure.

Crewe now sit top of Group North with nine points from three games, having won every match. Aston Villa U21 remain fourth with zero points after three defeats, a run that shows their away form needs urgent attention. The gap between the teams is now eight points with two fixtures remaining.

Prepared from match data

Video

Match highlights Crewe — Aston Villa U21 EFL Match highlights Crewe — Aston Villa U21 Crewe Alexandra

Key numbers

Possession, % 48 – 52
Shots on target 8 – 5
Shots off target 4 – 3
Attacks 27 – 37

Match events

  1. 11' 0:0 Crewe Yellow card Owen lunt
  2. 31' 1:0 Crewe Goal Luke Offord assist: Calum·Agius
  3. 34' 1:0 Crewe Substitution Owen lunt off: Patrick Mlynarski
  4. 40' 2:0 Crewe Goal Adrien thibaut
  5. 45' 2:0 Crewe Substitution Luke Offord off: L. Billington
  6. 48' 3:0 Crewe Goal Jack Lankester assist: Stan Dancey
  7. 60' 3:0 Crewe Substitution Adrien thibaut off: Ryan Chadwick
  8. 60' 3:0 Crewe Substitution Kyle Ure off: Joel Ewusi
  9. 62' 3:0 Aston Villa U21 Yellow card Leon Routh
  10. 63' 3:0 Aston Villa U21 Substitution Rodrigo Fortes off: V. Hayward
  11. 63' 3:0 Aston Villa U21 Substitution Leon Routh off: Teddie Bloomfield
  12. 63' 3:0 Aston Villa U21 Substitution Theodore Carroll off: Vincely Mudame
  13. 63' 3:0 Aston Villa U21 Substitution Woody Burgess off: Lennon Melmuish
  14. 64' 3:0 Aston Villa U21 Substitution T. Mulley off: Lennon Moss
  15. 65' 3:0 Crewe Yellow card L. Billington
  16. 67' 3:0 Crewe Substitution Charlie McNeill off: Jordan Gibson
  17. 85' 3:1 Aston Villa U21 Goal max jenner
  18. 88' 4:1 Crewe Goal Jack Lankester assist: Jordan Gibson

Statistics

48 Possession, % 52
8 Shots on target 5
4 Shots off target 3
0 Big chances 0
27 Attacks 37
10 Corners 4
27 Fouls 12
11 Free kicks 27
3 Offsides 0
2 Yellow cards 1
0 Red cards 0
10 Goal kicks 5
9 Throw-ins 15
All statistics
2 Blocked shots 5
23 Clearances 20
63 Failed passes 66
4 Goalkeeper saves 5
0.57 Shot accuracy 0.38
7 Shots from outside the box 9
7 Shots inside the box 4
8/1457% Tackles 9/1275%
391 Total passes 434

Line-ups

Crewe

Starting XI
# Player number
13 Ian John Lawlor 13
4 K. Yur 4
6 Luke Offord 6
30 Stan Dancy 30
7 Jack Richard Lankester 7
19 O. Lant 19
20 Calum Agius 20
32 L. Moore 32
23 Charlie McNell 23
29 Adrien Thibault 29
Substitutes
# Player number
1 Tom Booth 1
2 Lewis Billington 2
14 Jordan Lewis Gibson 14
36 Joel Ewusi 36
27 Patrick Mlinarski 27
Show full squad

Aston Villa U21

Starting XI
# Player number
42 James Wright 42
66 L. Raut 66
70 R. Fortes 70
71 Theodore Carroll 71
80 W. Burgess 80
63 A. Linsky 63
68 Trai-Varn Mulley 68
73 M. Jenner 73
77 K. Quinn 77
Substitutes
# Player number
78 T. Bloomfield 78
76 Vinnie Hayward 76
Show full squad

Match prediction: Crewe — Aston Villa U21

Win: Crewe

Confidence 63%

Reasoning

  • Крю, last 5 games: 0 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses
  • Астон Вилла U21, last 5 games: 1 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses
Full prediction

Analytical content. Not a call to gamble. 18+

Recent form

Crewe

D29 Aug · Away Port Vale · 0:0D1 Sep · Home Walsall · 2:2D5 Sep · Home York · 1:1D12 Sep · Away Colchester · 1:1D19 Sep · Home Shrewsbury · 1:1W22 Sep · Home Aston Villa U21 · 4:1

Recent matches

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Aston Villa U21

L28 Aug · Home Crystal Palace U21 · 0:2L2 Sep · Home Brondby U21 · 0:4D11 Sep · Away Fulham U21 · 3:3W15 Sep · Home Real Sociedad B · 5:1D18 Sep · Home Middlesbrough U21 · 2:2L22 Sep · Away Crewe · 1:4

Recent matches

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