Matty Cash fails wing audition for Aston Villa in poor showing v Liverpool
There was something particularly notable about Aston Villa and their starting XI prior to Sunday’s (3 September) clash against Liverpool.
And that was the fact Matty Cash was starting on the wing for the Villans against Jurgen Klopp’s men at anfield.
Villa boss Unai Emery was philosophical about his choice when speaking to BBC Sport prior to the game.
“He was a winger when he was coming through at Nottingham (Forest). He played as a winger and we use him sometimes as a right-back but he can play as well as a winger,” he said.
“And (Leon) Bailey played on Thursday. We have a lot of matches and we need to use every player and today is Cash.”
Emery is spot on, of course, that Villa will have to utilise all of their squad in a year in which they will mix Premier League football with a tilt at the Europa Conference League.
But Cash’s audition for a berth a little higher up the pitch than the right-back position in which is more accustomed did not go altogether too well.
He was extremely unfortunate to finish with an own goal, when Darwin Nunez’s fierce strike cannoned off the post, rebounded into Cash, and bundled into the goal.
By the end of the 3-0 defeat, though, Cash’s numbers did not make for great reading.
According to stats provided by Sofa Score, He had a pass completion rate of only 74 per cent, while failing to attempt any crosses and not finishing with any key passes.
Moreover, he had just one shot – which was off target – and failed with his one dribble attempt, while he lost possession on nine separate occasions.
He did four of his seven duels, an area where his right-back instincts perhaps helped, but all in all playing Cash on the wing may not be the best long-term solution.
In other Aston Villa news, it was not just Cash who struggled against the Reds.