Afternoon to forget so far for Douglas Luiz at half-time in Wolves v Aston Villa
It had been an uninspiring and difficult half for Aston Villa against Wolves at Molineux Stadium on Saturday [6 May] going in at half-time 1-0 down.
Aston Villa were looking to right the wrongs of their disappointing 1-0 defeat to Manchester United [30 April] when they took on their Midlands rivals at Molineux Stadium.
Having pulled some 17 points clear of their fellow Midlands club following a spectacular surge up the table, Villa kicked off Saturday’s game seven spots above their 14th-placed opponents in the Premier League pecking order.
And Unai Emery’s men certainly started the game like a side well ahead of their fierce rivals both in the table and on the pitch as they claimed much of the territory in the opening minutes of the match.
However, it was Wolves who took the lead inside ten minutes after centre-back Toti notched his first goal for the club with a stunning header from a Ruben Neves corner for which Emiliano Martinez had no chance.
The Villans almost equalised soon after but for a superb save from Jose Sa keeping out a well-taken Emi Buendia volley from outside the penalty area.
However, since then Emery’s men simply failed to break down a stout Wolverhampton resistance with Buendia proving their own source of creativity and the former Villarreal coach will have been livid by the performance of some of his key stars most notably in Douglas Luiz.
The Brazilian international has certainly proven one of the Villan’s most consistent performers in recent weeks, providing the assurance and composure needed at the heart of the midfield, but it’s been an afternoon to forget so far for the 24-year-old maestro.
As per SofaScore, Luiz picked up the worst average rating of any player on the pitch in the East Midlands, and much of that will be down to his sloppiness in possession and his lacklustre off-the-ball work, whilst his midfield partner John McGinn did all the dirty work Aston Villa desperately needed.
Luiz only won one of his six total duels at a dreadful rate of 16%, lost possession of the ball nine times and was dribbled past once with his opponents overrunning him on numerous occasions in the midfield.
With the club’s European spot on the line, Emery will be desperate for his trusted midfield enforcer to improve very quickly in the second half. When Luiz ticks, Aston Villa follows suit. That hasn’t been the case in the opening 45 minutes.
In other Aston Villa news, one bargain target can save the club millions for investment elsewhere in the squad and still have a major impact.