Slavia Prague suffered their first ever defeat at their new Eden stadium as Aston villa walked off with a 1-0 victory in their UEFA group game. Villa came out positively in the first half and were rewarded by a lucky goal by John Carew. The Czech champions rallied in the second half but were unable to find a way past an excellent Brad Guzan in goal. With two victories so far, Villa are in a strong position to progress towards the last 32 while Slavia have got it all to do now.

Martin O'Neill made sweeping changes to the side that conceded at St James Park. There were rare starts for Guzan in goal, Salifou and Gardner in holding midfield. Davis and Knight were associated in central defence while Cuellar was moved out to right back. Slavia coach Karel Jarolim went with a rather conservative 4-5-1 formation, with Necid alone upfront and Smicer and Cerny in support.

The game got off to a lively start, in spite of the persistent drizzle over the Czech capital. Villa was marginally on top in terms of possession and territory in the opening stages but their hosts were the first to threaten, with a good shot by Krajcik that ruffled the side netting 5 minutes in. Villa slowly got on top as Carew made his imposing presence felt in the box. The big Norwegian was at best clumsy against the Czechs, missing two good chances in the first half hour. Gardner had the best of the bunch, with a good volley from a Sidwell ball in that the keeper just about gathered on his goal line. Ironically, Carew didn't know much about his goal. 25 minutes in, Sidwell and Young combined on the edge of the box and Carew deflected Sidwell's strike, wrongfooting Varniak in goal. Villa were buoyed by the lead and threatened to double it soon after. Ashley Young came the closest with a beautifully curled free kick from an angle that had crashed on the woodwork, with Vaniak well-beaten. Young was very active on his left wing throughout the first half. Sidwell also produced a good controlled display in midfield. Davis and Knight were faultless in central defence. The hosts had one good chance of pulling level, five minutes from half time, but Guzan produced a great point blank save from Necid, who was the main dangerman. Wladimir Smicer, the ex-Liverpool player, had to with draw with a hamstring injury just before half time.

Slavia came back from the interval with more purpose and were nearly immediately rewarded. Jarolim was marginally called offside 3 minutes in and his strike was chalked off, to the great dismay of the crowd. Villa put out an excellent defensive display and Mustafa Salifou had a busy evening in holding midfield. Davis, Knight and Cuellar were keeping good watch at the back and managed to repel Slavia's efforts relatively easily until Necid rose above Davis on 68 minutes and headed narrowly wide from a cross. That was to be Slavia's best chance of the half. The Czech champs kept pushing until the bitter end but Villa were unyielding. Slavia literally besieged the Villa penalty box in the closing ten minutes but were unable to craft a decent chance.  Slavia seemed to be looking for the perfect shooting position instead of going for the good old hit and hope tactic. In the end, they didn't create enough goal-scoring opportunities and had to concede.

Martin O'Neill will have been delighted with what he saw in his side against a very good Slavia. They showed a great deal of valiance and defended tooth and nail throughout the second half. At a time when his first teamers seem to be feeling the strain, it gives O'Neill more options for the few games ahead. Davis and Knight looked the full package in central defence while Salifou was very effective in the "Makelele" role in defensive midfield. Sidwell also came into his own. It was Slavia's first game in the group and they now face an uphill battle to recover from this setback. They did show a lot of skill but lacked a killer instinct upfront. On a better night, Cerny or Necid would have been on target.