Lucas Digne shows his worth in rare positive for Aston Villa in Liverpool defeat
It was a tricky afternoon for Aston Villa as Unai Emery’s side were beaten 3-0 in the Premier League by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday (3 September).
Anfield is a tricky place to visit, very few teams come away from their trips to Merseyside with anything at all, with even a draw away to Jurgen Klopp’s men a difficult feat to achieve.
It is something of a fortress, and supporters who made the dreaded journey should not be too disheartened leaving empty-handed, despite the underwhelming performances by some of their players.
There will be plenty of easier games this season and more opportunities to pick up points, and the fact that one of their more difficult fixtures is already in the rearview mirror can offer optimism to the Villans.
Another encouraging point to take away from their trip up north is the performance of left-back Lucas Digne, who would know all about what it means to play at Anfield from his time with Everton.
He demonstrated on Sunday afternoon that he can be a real asset for Emery this season and slot into his style of play, after being dropped on numerous occasions toward the back end of last season and being linked with a move away throughout the summer. He was one of the better performers on the day, and the stats certainly support this notion.
The 30-year-old racked up an expected assists total of 0.23, having played four key passes throughout the match (Sofascore). In addition to this, he provided five accurate crosses into the box from the eight that he attempted. As well as his impressive exploits going forward, he showed plenty of promise defensively as well.
Digne made two clearances, five interceptions and two tackles, and was only dribbled past on one occasion. He won four of his seven ground duels, while making 63 touches overall, showing his influence for the away side.
Without him, the result could have been far worse, and if he continues in this vein of form for the remainder of the season, there will certainly be better days ahead than their trip to Liverpool.
In other Aston Villa news, one other player made a much less favourable impression of themselves during the defeat.