Youri Tielemans must do more for Aston Villa starting place despite game-changing role v Crystal Palace
Aston Villa bounced back from their disappointing 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at the beginning of the month by securing a 3-1 win against Crystal Palace.
Unai Emery’s men went 1-0 down to the Eagles at Villa Park on Saturday (16 September), but late goals from Jhon Duran, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey clinched all three points.
The important win helped Villa climb to seventh place in the Premier League table, but it really would not have been possible without super substitute Youri Tielemans.
Introduced in the 58th minute for Boubacar Kamara, the summer signing played a key role in two of his club’s three goals.
After Duran smashed home an equaliser, Tielemans fed the ball through to Ollie Watkins, who was sent tumbling in the box to earn his side a penalty, which Luiz fired home.
The midfielder played a similarly key role for Villa’s third, playing a superb through ball down the line for Moussa Diaby, whose square ball was met by Bailey to place into the back of the net.
However, it wasn’t exactly a top-class display from the former Leicester City man, who won just one of his three duels (33%) and was not accurate with either of his two crosses (0%), as per SofaScore.
Moreover, the Belgian registered a pass success rate of 76%, lost possession eight times, and was dribbled past once.
In stark contrast, Kamara, who played 58 minutes, registered a pass success rate of 89%, and only lost possession five times, having also been dribbled past once.
So, while Tielemans will more than likely start in Villa’s upcoming Europa League clash against Legia Warsaw to give both Luiz and Kamara a well-earned rest, he remains some way off starting in the Premier League.
In other Aston Villa news, one Aston Villa Women star has been recognised by FIFA after her “year to remember.”