Aston Villa slammed by Roberto De Zerbi after 2-1 win v Brighton
Aston Villa have been accused of “wasting time” by Roberto De Zerbi during their 2-1 victory over Brighton on Sunday 13th November.
Unai Emery made it two wins from two games in the Premier League after falling behind to an Alexis Mac Allister strike within the first 50 seconds of the match.
A Danny Ings brace spared Emery’s blushes after conceding such a soft opener and helped them climb to 12th, and one point off the top half of the table.
Villa clung onto the three points amid a barrage of late Brighton pressure which saw six of their players booked in the last 20 minutes.
In turn, De Zerbi wasn’t afraid to scrutinise Emery’s side of time-wasting – a tactic which they have already been accused of by Jesse Marsch earlier this season.
He told Birmingham Mail: “If the games are 90 minutes, during the 90 minutes you have to play, you can’t play 45 or 44 minutes.
“To lose is not a big problem. It is not a big problem to lose one game like with Villa we lost, but I would like to play normal time.
When asked if Emery’s side were time-wasting, the Seagulls boss replied: “Yes, a lot of wasting time. Too much wasting time. I think the referee had to control the game.
“This work is his work. Not my work, not my players’ work, not our fans’ work. For this situation, I was angry and frustrated.”
Game management
For Aston Villa, the three points gained on Sunday were a distinct change from other performances this season.
A soft underbelly has plagued Villa’s season, constantly throwing away strong positions in matches and gifting easy goals away on a regular basis.
And although the match started in a similar manner when Douglas Luiz was shrugged off the ball on the edge of his own box and the side consequently fell behind, the dark arts that Villa displayed in the last 25 minutes were a welcome surprise to the raucous travelling fans.
To answer De Zerbi’s claims, yes Emery’s side was time-wasting, and yes there shouldn’t be a place for it in the game, but there was a slight element of pleasure watching this gritty Diego Simeone Esq finish to the game.
As Brighton threw several players on the pitch in the final moments, Emery organised his side into a flat-back six with a midfield four in front.
It wasn’t pretty but boy was it effective.
In other news, Unai Emery is set to ask the Aston Villa board to sign two Real Madrid players