Aston Villa record unwanted Unai Emery stat in loss v Manchester United, Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn culpable
Unai Emery cut a frustrated figure on the Old Trafford touchline as his Aston Villa side were edged out 1-0 by Manchester United and beaten for the first time in 11 games.
Bruno Fernandes’ first-half strike was the only way to split the two sides in a game of few clear-cut chances and one which Villa would have hoped to nick a point from.
Emery said after the game on Sunday he was a “little disappointed” with the performance of his side, and the stats back up the Spaniard’s thinking, with Villa recording an unwanted record from his time as manager.
Since the sacking of Steven Gerrard and the arrival of Emery, Aston Vila have been tasked with focussing heavily on a slow build-up play and complete control when in possession of the football.
However, against the Red Devils, Villa lost possession of the ball on 34 occasions, a record across Emery’s 23 games at the helm.
According to WhoScored, Jacob Ramsey gifted the ball away on 7 occasions, John McGinn 5 times, and Emi Buendia 4 times.
Ramsey, in particular, struggled with the physical presence of Casemiro in the heart of Manchester United’s formation, which at some points resembled a 3-1-5-1, with their full-backs pushing on high and the Brazilian tucking in deep.
As per the stats from FBREF, the English midfielder was dispossessed a team-high 3 times as well as recording 3 miscontrols – a total which only McGinn topped (4).
The poor use of possession by both McGinn and Ramsey was highlighted by their total pass accuracy stats of 72.7% and 73.3%, which was the latter’s lowest total from his last six outings.
Ramsey is placing himself in the right areas to get on the ball, receiving a midfield-high 31 successful passes during his 90-minute showing, but he needs to be more careful and selective of the passes he makes afterwards.
Wolves will certainly have looked at this minor chink in Aston Villa’s armour ahead of the midlands derby this Saturday (6 May), and the likes of Ramsey and McGinn could do with ironing out their use of possession when under pressure in the middle of the park.
In other Aston Villa news, concerns about Ollie Watkins have been examined by a BBC Sport pundit.