Blackburn's Samba: Stop Petrov. Stop Villa

Blackburn Rovers defender Christopher Samba has revealed the secret to beating Aston Villa.

The 6ft 4in Congolese battering ram said: “You have to stop Stiliyan Petrov passing the ball comfortably from the midfield.

“He can’t make easy passes if we close him down and cut the space for Gabby Agbonlahor.

“We also showed Ashley Young outside so he could not come inside and make the game how he wants to so our tactics worked well.”