Unai Emery surprised a few by playing Matty Cash as a right winger against RB Leipzig.Unai Emery surprised a few by playing Matty Cash as a right winger against RB Leipzig.
Unai Emery surprised a few by playing Matty Cash as a right winger against RB Leipzig. | AFP via Getty Images
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has explained a bold decision he made for the 3-2 win at RB Leipzig.
Emery has revealed he played Matty Cash as a right midfielder to surprise Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Spanish head coach decided to move Cash into a more advanced role, instead placing Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos as the right-sided defenders. Emery persevered with his usual tactic of pushing just the one full-back high - Lucas Digne on the left - but in this case he utilised Cash on the right with Konsa as cover.
It worked within just three minutes as Cash played a key role in Villa breaking the deadlock, dinking in the cross that Ollie Watkins nodded back into goalscorer John McGinn’s path. Cash nearly had an assist of his own later in the game as he set up Jhon Duran, but he was narrowly offside in the build-up.
Unai Emery surprised a few by playing Matty Cash as a right winger against RB Leipzig.Unai Emery surprised a few by playing Matty Cash as a right winger against RB Leipzig.
Unai Emery surprised a few by playing Matty Cash as a right winger against RB Leipzig. | AFP via Getty Images
“I decided to use Cash as defending low but attacking high,” Emery revealed in the post-match press conference. “He played at the beginning of his career as a winger. His work was fantastic.”
With Leon Bailey in contention for Villa’s trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday following a minor hamstring issue, it’ll be interesting to see if Emery starts Cash in the same role again. The Poland international has played as a right midfielder before but not quite as advanced as he did in Leipzig.
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Jaden Philogene is another player with a chance of a start but the £13.5million summer signing has struggled in his recent appearances. Starting with Cash is probably the way forward, though Bailey playing instead can’t be ruled out.
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