Jonathan Kodjia's hat-trick put Villa on course for a fifth win over Liverpool in the past decade, albeit against an eleven that involved Under-23 players.
Dean Smith was delighted to see substitute Wesley to get a goal of his own after enduring a barren spell himself. Smith spoke to FourFourTwo after Villa's win.
"The idea was to get Wes on and he scored a really good goal, which was pleasing because I know he has been getting... at most of my press conferences I end up talking about him.
"He is a 23-year-old player, in a foreign country, in the Premier League, which is one of the toughest leagues in the world, and he has scored four goals so far in his 17 league games.
"I think some of the criticism can be a little bit too harsh at times, but you could see the reaction of the players when he scored that goal, at how pleased they were for him."
'I would have loved to faced their first team'
Smith admitted the victory was tarnished by the circumstances.
"Yes, I would love to have been playing Liverpool’s first team, but they had other things they had to go and do.
"For us, this is the first major competition of the season, and if you are not in Europe, or the Club World Cup, then you’ve only got three trophies to win."
'First-class' conduct hailed
In the opposing dugout, Liverpool U23 coach Neil Critchley spoke to Sky Sports about his admiration for Smith and his coaching staff for the professional environment they provided.
"I've got to say that the conduct of the Villa players all night was first class - the way they played the game and the way they looked after our boys. For Dean and JT to come in and say the things they did to that group of players in there.
"They just said how difficult they made it for them and that we'd got some really good players, to keep going and good luck. They wished us all the best for the future, and it will be a moment I remember & the players remember for the rest of their lives, I think."
Aston Villa face Southampton on Saturday and Dean Smith will now immediately turns his attention to Premier League survival.
