After defeating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week, Villa sat in sixth place, three points behind Saturday’s visitors Brighton in third.
The victory in West London was swiftly followed up by a disappointing League Cup exit against Everton in midweek and so Emery’s side wanted to respond quickly against the high-flying Seagulls.
Words by: Joey Millington
As two evenly-matched sides who both play distinct, attractive styles of football lined up, fans could have been forgiven for expecting a closely-fought match. What followed, however, was a classy and clinical statement victory from Aston Villa as Brighton were blown away in a balmy Birmingham. Here are the key talking points:
England’s Ollie Watkins
Whilst there were countless performances of note from those in claret and blue, it was Ollie Watkins who stood head and shoulders above to lead Villa to the most emphatic of victories.
Ollie Watkins has many skills, but an underrated one seems to be his ability to deliver when the pressure is on. Despite a hattrick in Edinburgh, Watkins had failed to open his account in the Premier League until last week. This has led to pressure from some corners, but as he always seems to do and as predicted following his goal last week, Ollie Watkins has caught fire when the heat is on.
The forward broke his duck with a match-winning drive at the Bridge and looked unplayable only a week later against England international Lewis Dunk and his partner and Three Lions hopeful Adam Webster.
The Brighton pair are known for their awareness, composure and physical prowess, but on Saturday they were run ragged by Watkins and his accomplice Diaby. The only sour note of the afternoon came when Diaby hobbled off in the second half, but fans will hope this is not too serious. The front two led Villa’s pressing, dragged opponents around the pitch and Watkins finished his chances when they came. This last point has been a criticism that has regularly been levelled at Watkins, but he was clinical against the Seagulls.
Such a dominant display was rightfully capped off with a Player of the Match award that was presented by Brighton fan Jules Breach, who did not hesitate in asking some tough questions of the Villa man. Watkins was quizzed on a potential new contract and the significance of his performance under the watchful eye of national manager Gareth Southgate. The response was typical of the tough, focused competitor that Watkins has become. He stated that he just “wanted to let my football do the talking,” and reiterated his constant desire to keep improving and score more goals. The former Brentford man even expressed his disappointment at not notching up a fourth late on as he slipped when shooting in the build up to the late Douglas Luiz sixth.
If Watkins continues to turn in performances like that, then it will not be long before he is rightfully back in Southgate’s ‘form-based’ England squad and he certainly will have earned a new deal.
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Unbelievable Unai
Since taking over from Graham Potter a year ago, Roberto De Zerbi has rightfully earned enormous plaudits for his meticulous attention to detail, implementation of a distinct and extremely watchable brand of football and his ability to take players to new heights. That sounds an awful lot like the man in the Villa dugout, although the Italian De Zerbi will have hoped it was third time lucky after his first two duels with Unai Emery both ended 2-1 to Villa last season.
A fixture between two of the greatest thinkers in contemporary English football and two men who are set to challenge the hegemony of the ‘Big Six’ promised to be an intriguing watch. The masterful tactics of Unai Emery though, negated all of Brighton’s usual channels of attack.
This included intelligent but aggressive pressing at the right moments led by the front two, a compact defensive shape which cut off Brighton passes into their midfield ground-control and drifting wing backs, as well as Pau Torres stepping into the base of the midfield when the visitors tried to find a more direct pass into their front two. The roaming of Moussa Diaby and John McGinn also created space and headaches as Villa cut through Brighton in a way that they have done to so many teams in the last 13 months.
For all of De Zerbi’s strengths and achievements, it is possible that his commitment to a style of play that has worked so well means that when a team gets the measure of this, it can go wrong very swiftly. The Seagulls will continue to earn admirers and go from strength to strength this year, but on Saturday they did not have the answers for the acumen of Unai Emery and the execution of his troops. According to skipper John McGinn, the Villa players had been brought in for an early morning meeting to ensure everyone was completely on top of their brief and it showed as the game plan was implemented perfectly to a man.
Both-way Wing Backs
With a full summer to mould his squad, many speculated whether Emery would implement the kind of lopsided defence that served him well at Villareal. With the Castellón outfit, Emery deployed centre back Juan Foyth as a defensive right back with the likes of Alberto Moreno, Alfonso Pedraza and current Brighton favourite Pervis Estupiñán providing penetration and width on the left.
Speculation grew in the summer that Matty Cash may not be a long term fit at full back in Emery’s system, whilst Lucas Digne was frequently linked with a move back to his native France. Villa have flirted with Ezri Konsa at right back this year and have occasionally shifted into a three at the back midgame, but largely it has been Cash and Digne who have both defended immaculately and created chances from out wide. From their futures being questioned, the pair are now key components in one of the most exciting sides in the league.
It was Polish favourite Cash who shone especially brightly at Villa Park as he won his duel with the electric Kaoru Mitoma, whilst also providing a key outball in attack. The Japanese wideman has had a whirlwind last four years after graduating from the University of Tsukuba and has now become one of the most feared wingers in European football, as he blends elite dribbling ability, good decision making and breathtaking speed to humiliate plenty of top full backs.
When combined with Emery’s former student Estupiñán, Brighton have crafted a dangerous left side. What made Cash’s performance particularly exemplary was that, save for a couple of moments at the start of each half, Brighton could not carry their usual threat down the left and were unusually caught out defensively on a number of occasions. The free role that Diaby is afforded when Villa are in possession, paired with John McGinn’s drifting playmaking pinned Mitoma back as he tried to cover for the floundering Estupiñán who did not know whether to stick or twist. Even though Mitoma is a fabulous footballer, his defensive ability leaves a lot to be desired and Matty Cash pounced on this in ruthless fashion, including a perfectly timed run and cross for the opening goal.
Lucas Digne had a solid game on the other side against the talismanic Solly March and his performances in recent months have caused a dilemma for the management team when the impressive Àlex Moreno is back in contention. Such squad depth and competition in the ranks will be crucial throughout what will be a long season, and importantly will put pay to the experiment of McGinn at left back which fans were so disappointed with in midweek.
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Midfield Maestros
This season, Brighton have rightly had praise heaped on them for their scintillating performances, which have been rooted in dominating possession and the midfield battle. Former Chelsea man Billy Gilmour has been key to the Seagulls’ success this term with his metronomic passing and ability to cover every blade of grass and on Saturday the Scottish star was joined by debutant Jack Hinshelwood in the middle of the park.
It is clear that Hinshelwood will have a big part to play in the Premier League for years to come, but on Saturday he and Gilmour struggled to get things ticking against Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara. The Villa duo dominated a far more expensively assembled midfield at Stamford Bridge the week before and when joined by John McGinn who regularly moved more central on Saturday, Brighton’s usual tempo and movement was disrupted immeasurably as Gilmour and Hinshelwood were outnumbered and outmanoeuvred.
With Tielemans still yet to fully get up to speed, young star Tim Ireogbunam coming back from injury and old head Leander Dendoncker more suited to closing out games, it was crucial for Luiz and Kamara to start the season on fire. That is exactly what they have done and the rest of the team are filled with the confidence of knowing that it will take a world class side to get the better of the Villa midfield.
The Fortress
What a difference it makes for Villa fans these days arriving at Villa Park safe in the knowledge that no team in the country expects an easy game. It was not long ago that many of us trudged out of the ground after a gutless 3-0 defeat to a Roberto Martinez-led Wigan, or that miserable 6-0 reverse at the hands of a Liverpool side who finished 8th, and not to forget the cold Tuesday in February 2017 when recently promoted Barnsley put us to the sword in the Championship.
Villa Park is now one of the most difficult places for away sides to come and the claret and blue side have put together a formidable run of ten Premier League home wins in a row for the first time in their history. In that time the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle and, on two occasions, Brighton have all come to town and left empty handed.
The stats make for pleasing reading for Villa fans. Across those ten matches, Villa have only conceded four goals, whilst racking up 27 of their own at 2.7 goals scored per game. They have also rained down an enormous 134 shots on their opponents goals, with only 67 fired back by visiting sides. The accuracy of those strikes are impressive too, with 38.81% on target and 18.66% converted. This percentage could be even higher had it not been for two own goals that prevented Watkins and Zaniolo tap-ins at the back post. In contrast, away sides have only seen 32.84% of their shots on target and a measly 5.97% hit the back of the net.
Emery’s side have impressively only trailed for 40 minutes in that winning run, in the recent late victory over Palace. Such stats reflect well on the accuracy of Villa’s finishing in the past six months, the control of match situations, the ability to limit visiting team’s chances and of course the magnificence of the man between the sticks when opponents do manage to hit the target.
In the Emery era, Villa have now won 12 home matches in the league, drawn only one and lost three. Two of the losses were early into the Spaniard’s reign against Liverpool and Arsenal. The away form has been slightly worse, although the team have still won an admirable eight out of 16, with five defeats and three draws. Four of those losses have come at the home of teams that finished in last season’s top five. Such a comprehensive deconstruction of an explosive Brighton team at the weekend will instil confidence in the ranks that results against the other top sides, both home and away, are just around the corner.
Villa the Bogey Team?
For years now, it feels like we have all been informed in the preamble to matches by pundits, and the wonderful stats-based Villa social media accounts, such as @AVFCStatto, of the chilling records that certain players or teams have against Villa. So it almost does not feel right that Villa and Ollie Watkins have the wood over a team like Brighton.
Villa have played Brighton 32 times in competitive fixtures, winning 18 of them and only losing on five occasions. Since 2016 across the Championship, League Cup and Premier League, the two sides have battled it out 12 times. Due to their magnificent rise in recent times, Brighton will have been favourites in over half of those matches, yet Villa were only defeated on one occasion, with seven Villa wins and four draws. This includes an imperious active streak of five Villa wins where the Albion have scored three goals in return for 14 from the Villa.
Villa’s number 11 Ollie Watkins seems to have it in for Brighton, and has now scored six and assisted one in his last four against the Seagulls, after failing to register in his first two against them. This means Brighton are statistically his favourite team to face in terms of goal contributions.
With Unai Emery at the helm then, Villa are no longer content with putting an end to dismal head-to-head records against sides, but they are now becoming a bogey team for others. To do so against such a classy side in Brighton and a high class manager in De Zerbi is even more remarkable.
Sensing blood
This side was on the receiving end of a battering against Newcastle on the opening day. It is a painful experience, especially when there is a sense that there is actually not much difference in quality between two teams.
The very best teams though, are able to sense blood and capitalise in an emphatic manner. In truth, there is little difference between Villa and Brighton and, depending on how they juggle European football, the two sides will surely finish in similar proximity to last season.
On Saturday, however, there seemed to be a chasm between the two teams. As discussed, this was largely down to Emery’s inch perfect tactics, but it required a ruthless team performance to create a result of this kind.
Villa have blown teams away at Villa Park, with Newcastle and Everton both put to the sword in recent months, but there was something extra special about Saturday’s domination. The fans bought into it and created pressure, sensing that something special was afoot. The players stepped up and even when changes were made, with the likes of the returning Jacob Ramsey and a man with a big point to prove in Youri Tielemans joining the fray, Villa would not take their foot off the gas.
This was a clinical but also patient display. The Villa players knew, for example, that Brighton would come flying out the traps in the second half. The Seagulls are too good not to have a spell. Yet Villa waited, like a boxer coiled and ready to land the perfect counterpunch. And land it they did, flush on the Brighton chin to win by a stoppage.
If Villa can do this more often, they will continue to be a joy to watch and a threat to any opponent.
UTV Podcast are Massive!
A final note on what proved to be an infamous day is that, to put it simply, UTV Podcast are massive!
Perhaps the best performances of the day came off the pitch, from the ever-reliable duo of Luke Robinson and Hannah Gowen. The pair of podcasters impressed TNT Sports viewers with their knowledge, positivity and composure amongst the pre-match shenanigans. The feel-good factor around the club and the community feel of the UTV Podcast team have intertwined and this has made it a joy to be a part of for the many contributors to the channel and website and I am certain that readers and viewers will have been extremely proud of the team. Long may the success of the UTV Podcast and the Villa team continue!
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One Response
Fabulous, articulate summary of what was a fabulous performance from the mighty AVFC
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