View: Three Aston Villa players who should be concerned after Stevenage defeat
The magic of the FA Cup was in full swing at Villa Park on Sunday – sadly for Aston Villa, it was not on their side as League Two Stevenage pulled off a famous victory.
Two late goals from Steve Evans’ men saw them shock their Premier League hosts and sail through to the fourth round of the World’s oldest cup competition.
Boos rightfully rang around Villa Park, with fans frustrated at the dismal performance and passing up the chance of a good run in the cup.
Emery opted to make a couple of changes to his starting lineup and had he played the side that beat Tottenham, the result would have been very different. Here Villa News takes a look at three players who have done themselves no favours after the defeat to the League Two side.
Philippe Coutinho
This was a chance for the Brazilian to really play his way into some sort of form and stake a consistent first-team claim. Since his arrival in the West Midlands, Aston Villa fans have seen flashes of brilliance from the Brazilian, but it’s been few and far between.
With there being no disrespect to the opposition, this should have been a game the 30-year-old shined in. He’s played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and he had to be able to make an attacking impact against League Two standard defenders.
In front of goal, he was completely ineffectual, with only one of his five shots actually ending up on target (Wyscout). Furthermore, he only managed three touches in the penalty area. For an ex-Champions League standard player, he simply had to be more of an attacking threat.
Coutinho also had to show more in terms of doing the basics right. No matter what level of football, it’s vital for players to win their individual battles and sadly he didn’t do that against Stevenage.
He won just half of his attacking duels and only attempted four dribbles which is dramatically lower than his career average. He was rightfully subbed off in the 67th minute and now he has to show Emery he is worthy of a starting berth in the Premier League side.
Robin Olsen
It goes without saying Olsen will take a lot of the flack for this defeat. There was no way he should have been beaten for the winning goal and he’s done himself no favours when staking a claim for the Premier League starting eleven.
Goalkeepers are judged on how they perform in the key moments in games and sadly Olsen failed when his side needed him most against the League Two high-flyers.
Villa had an expected goals against of 0.85 and considering they conceded two, the finger has to pointed firmly at the Swede. When the only two shots on target end up in goals, there’s nowhere to hide.
Jan Bednarek
The Poland international has been the definition of a bit-part player for Villa since his move from Southampton and sadly it showed.
He struggled against the physical nature of Stevenage, with just one aerial duel won during the entire fixture. As a Premier League standard central defender, he simply has to be putting up better numbers in this sense.
Furthermore, he was often careless with his passing with just a 50 per cent longer pass accuracy rate throughout the fixture. In games against lesser teams, it’s essential for players to do the basics correctly and for Bednarek to only win 45 per cent of his duels during the match his telling.
It’s been a struggle since his arrival at Villa Park and it would not be a surprise to see him depart during the January window.
In other Aston Villa news, Rachel Daly should be played as centre-forward for the Lionesses in 2023 after her stunning campaign in the West Midlands.