View: Aston Villa lured Brighton into a defensive trap in 2-1 win
Unai Emery has got off to a flying start at Aston Villa with two Premier League victories on the spin against Manchester United and Brighton.
The Brighton display was certainly an intriguing match-up, with Villa mastering the dark arts of the game to complete a comeback victory over Roberto De Zerbi’s side.
Many would look at the game and just assume Villa bullied their way to a victory and although their aggressiveness did help, there were some clever defensive traps utilised by the away side.
One element of Villa’s defensive play which was particularly impressive was their ability to defend crosses. In fact, they were so comfortable in their ability to clear their box, they actively invited Brighton to move the ball out wide, whilst they created a compact defensive unit to defend from.
During the match at the Amex, Brighton managed 24 crosses compared to Villa’s six (Wyscout). However, the Seagulls failed to capitalise on the amount of possession they had out wide. Brighton lack a clinical goalscorer, and Emery clearly noticed that giving them the ball out wide wouldn’t hurt his side.
Furthermore, the Spaniard showed a lot of trust in his central defenders to be responsible and clear the majority of the balls that came their way. Ezri Konsa managed seven interceptions and three clearances during the fixture in what was an impressive display from the 25-year-old.
The images below demonstrate just one of a number of times the defender cleared his lines during the match on the South Coast.
Mings was even more impressive for Villa, with the England international managing eleven interceptions and seven clearances during the match, in what was a key part of Villa coming away with the three points. He has had his problems this season, but when asked to just defend he is more than capable.
Against Brighton, who lack a real focal point up front, tactics like this can work really well. However, it would not be a surprise to see Emery change his tactics, depending on who his side are coming up against. Allowing the ball to be played out wide won’t work every single week, but nonetheless, Villa have found a way of defending which can get results away from home in the Premier League.
In other Aston Villa news, Leon Bailey set to become Aston Villa star in new role under Unai Emery