Aston Villa coach Dean Smith heaped praise on Egyptian winger Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan after he scored twice in Villa's 2-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday to help his side in their fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League. Trezeguet's double is the first for the Egyptian international since joining Villa from Turkish Super Lig side Kasimpasa in the summer of 2019. He took his tally to five league goals with three matches remaining. “He's a good, bright player," Smith told the club's official website on Sunday. “It's funny, we're getting to a stage now, and I said this would happen, where players like Trezeguet and Douglas Luiz, players who were new at the start of this season, look accustomed to Premier League football now. “I'm pleased for him to get the brace, they were two good finishes and it will do him the world of good." Trezeguet's compatriot and club teammate Ahmed Elmohamady also underlined the importance of Trezeguet's brace, which gave Villa their first win since January and kept alive their survival hopes. "In the last few games, we created some chances but just we need the final touch and the final ball, which we found today," the right wing-back said. "Trezeguet was lucky to get two goals against Newcastle. He worked hard in the last few games but he didn't score, but today was some luck for him and I wish him luck in the next three games." "Goals will give him confidence and will allow him have more freedom and hopefully in the next three games he scores four, five goals to help us stay in the Premier League." Elmohamady added that Villa's three next games would be crucial for the team in their bid to retain their top-flight status. Aston Villa are 18th in the table with 30 points, four behind Watford -- the last team in the safety zone. "The next three games would be massive for us it would be like a three Cup finals. We have to win the three games," Elmohamady said. Aston Villa will have a mountain to climb in the remaining three games as they will face Everton, Arsenal and West Ham, with the latter also facing relegation threat. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
