Aston Villa wrapped up their USA pre-season tour with a 2-2 draw with Nashville SC on Saturday as our preparations for the new season continued with another good test.
Ollie Watkins broke the deadlock in the first half to put us ahead with a bullet header, while Donyell Malen doubled our advantage after the break as we looked set to return home with a win.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa’s draw with Nashville in pre-season
However, the hosts fought back and secured a draw in a spirited effort, while Villa once again made significant changes at half-time which likely broke our rhythm and balance to open the doors for the comeback.
Nevertheless, it was another important run-out for the players as they continue to build their fitness and confidence ahead of the new season, and we’ll now finish off our preparations with games against Roma, Marseille and Villarreal in the coming week.
Emery working on structure, building fitness
Results would have mattered little to the Villa boss on this tour, and he reiterated the key points he was focused on in his post-match press conference as he spoke about structure and fitness again.
With no international commitments to delay the return of his players or distract them this summer, Emery has had an extended period of time to get his squad together and work on the fundamentals of his ideas and strategies.
While our inactivity in the transfer market is a concern, it will surely prove to be crucial that he’s had this time with the players to try and perfect how we’re going to set up and play this season in various scenarios.
Watkins looking sharp
Injuries were a problem for the Villa striker to start last season as he was visibly struggling to get up to full speed and that significantly disrupted him and impacted his form in the early stages of the campaign.
In contrast, he looks healthy and fully fit in pre-season this year, and that’s reflected in his goals and his overall sharpness in the final third as he impressed in this game.
He’s still searching for a clinical edge on a consistent basis in front of goal as he had chances earlier in the clash to put us ahead, but his movement and general play is looking good and that’s a big positive given his importance in leading the line for us.
Malen decisive again
After his string of assists in our last two outings, the Dutchman got on the scoresheet with a clinical bit of play as he cut inside and produced an emphatic finish into the corner to double our lead in the second half.
Malen is set for a big role this season as he’ll be promoted up the pecking order following the exits of loanees Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, and it certainly looks as though he’s ready for the challenge based on his pre-season form.
We’ll hope to see it continue as the level of opposition steps up, while his versatility to be able to play across the frontline will also certainly be useful.
Kamara, Onana commanding in midfield
While the expectation is that if Youri Tielemans is fit, he’ll be in the Villa XI, it was encouraging to see Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana look commanding in our deeper pivot as a pairing in this encounter.
The pair worked well to stamp their authority on their game in midfield and control proceedings both in and out of possession, and against certain opposition, perhaps on the road when we’re likely to come under more pressure, they’ll be tasked with giving us that solidity and protection in front of the backline.
It will be another tactical solution for Emery, and so it was pleasing to see it work so effectively in this game, even with Villa in charge in the opening 45 minutes.
Buendia fighting for spot in Villa plans
After his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen last season, there was a sense that Emiliano Buendia had possibly played his last game for Villa as it was hard to see him working his way back into Emery’s plans.
However, the Argentine playmaker has featured heavily in pre-season thus far, and so with a prudent Villa perhaps going through a summer of consolidation this year to preserve what we have and not spend big money, could he be in line for another chance?
There’s no doubting his desire and commitment as he pressed and defended tirelessly again in this game, while he showed glimpses of his quality from an attacking perspective with his ability to find pockets of space and play in teammates to create dangerous chances. The finishing wasn’t quite there from them while Buendia needs to be more consistent and decisive when he gets those openings, but he may well have played his way back into the club’s plans for the upcoming season as a key rotation option as we compete across multiple competitions.
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