Aston Villa routed Crewe Alexandra 6-1 in the Carabao Cup third round. The scoreline does not pose a true reflection of the game as the Villans needed to soak up some early pressure before outclassing the home team.
Smith believes that his team can go far in the tournament if they play to their potentials. The game began with Crewe Alexandra boss Dave Artell starting 18-year-old Rio Adebisi as one of the four changes to the team that played at the weekend.
Smith also made changes with Jota the only player to retain his spot from the team that defeated Everton last Friday. New signings Marvelous Nakamba, EzriKonsa and Matt Targett made their debuts. Konsa opened the scoring in the first half placing a header beyond stopper David Richards.
Shortly after ConorHourihane scored the second slotting into an empty net after some good work from Lansbury.
It became three before halftime when Anwar El Ghazi assisted Hourihane to net his second of the game. Crewe continued to create chances but were wasteful in front of goal and were duly punished by Keinan Davis who scored the fourth.
By this point, Smith rang the changes and brought in the likes of Jack Grealish and Frederic Guilbert who grabbed a goal each to complete the rout before Ryan Wintle scored a consolation goal for the home side.
Crewe boss Dave Artell revealed after the game that his team had lost concentration during key moments of the game. He also praised Villa for having the class to be ruthless with their opportunities.