With the Christmas schedule upon us, Aston Villa kicked off a big week with a hugely impressive win over Manchester City this weekend.
Goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers either side of half-time put Villa in control as although we displayed real quality in our attacking play, this victory was built on a strong defensive effort from the entire team that gave us a foundation to go on and win it.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Man City: Influential trio superb in excellent win
After the bitter disappointment of throwing away points at Nottingham Forest last weekend, this was a crucial display and result to get back on track immediately, as with Newcastle Utd and Brighton next up, it promises to be a challenging week as we look to end 2024 on a high note.
This win will certainly have pleased Unai Emery and the players though as we made it back-to-back wins over Man City at home in the Premier League, and despite their current struggles, this remains a massive result and a big boost for us moving forward.
Villa win inspired by Emery tactical tweak
Just as we saw in our win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League earlier this month, Emery’s masterful ability to tweak his tactical set-up and personnel can deliver results, and his flexibility was on show again here as we pushed Youri Tielemans into a more advanced role, with Amadou Onana partnering Boubacar Kamara in the midfield pivot.
It was as balanced as we’ll likely see Villa this season as we had a solid base on which to build with the tenacity and athleticism of Kamara and Onana, while Tielemans thrived with more freedom to pull the strings and lead the way to three points.
With John McGinn and Rogers providing support and a tireless work ethic out wide, it was a brilliant display, and one which was likely aided by the fact that we had a full week to rest and prepare, with our intensity and aggression from the first minute emerging as one of the biggest positives.
Tielemans majestic with more midfield freedom
There were so many excellent performances across the pitch that it’s difficult to pick out individuals, but Tielemans deserved his Man of the Match award having controlled things for us in his more advanced midfield role, having been given the freedom from Emery to dictate and distribute.
The Belgian midfielder’s ability to turn away from pressure, show a wonderful first touch and speed up the tempo of our play as we transition from defence to attack is so influential, and coupled with his tenacity and work ethic, he was superb in this win.
Having impressed in a deeper role already this season, Tielemans is showing his class wherever he’s asked to play, and if he is to continue in this role, it will likely continue to be a joy to watch.
Rogers finds decisive touch in front of goal
As noted by Emery in his post-match interview, it’s important that Rogers adds goals to his game to become a consistently decisive figure for us, and he was clinical in two big moments to lead us to victory on Saturday.
We all know just how good he is with his ability to drive forward from deeper areas, shrug off opposing players and create openings for us, but that last bit of his play hasn’t been as impactful as it could be, and so it was great to see him deliver in a big game like this.
Speaking after the game, he praised Emery for his influence on his development, and it’s clear that he’s not only going to be a critical piece in our side moving forward, but there is still so much room for improvement.
Duran produces best, all-round Villa performance
Having bagged his 12th goal of the season in just 25 appearances, Duran continues to deliver when called upon by Emery, and importantly, that’s starting to be the case when he’s named in the starting line-up, and not just when he comes on from the bench.
His goal aside though, this was a really encouraging display as it was arguably his best all-round effort since he joined us. His hold up play, ability to link things together and the way he led the line was superb, while his work-rate off the ball was critical to the way we wanted to play.
While he’ll have to accept that he will share playing time with Ollie Watkins, he is making a very strong case to play more often, and as things stand, he deserves to continue in the starting line-up.
Confidence, belief building back despite setbacks
Through our eight-game winless streak, there were real concerns over how we were playing. We’d lost many of the elements and fundamentals of what makes Emery’s style of play so effective, and while we were conceding too many goals, we lacked sharpness and quality in our attacking play.
We’ve continued to suffer setbacks since putting that run to an end, namely our loss at Nottingham Forest last weekend, but there are clear signs that we’re getting back to our best and playing the Emery way more effectively and consistently.
Whether that’s a more solid, disciplined and organised defensive structure, or the movement, balance and quality in possession, we’re showcasing those important principles again, and hopefully that will continue to lead to positive results.