Jhon Duran not ready to lead Aston Villa line after losing 75% of duels v Everton
Another year has gone by and Aston Villa have missed out on the chance of adding another League Cup to their trophy cabinet, having been knocked out in the third round by Everton.
The Toffees won 2-1 at Villa Park on Wednesday evening as Unai Emery’s side struggled to make possession count as they failed to create a single big chance in the game, despite having 68 per cent of possession and 11 shots [Fotmob].
Emery had made some changes for the fixture, including bringing Jhon Duran back into the fold to lead the line against a back three of James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Jarrad Branthwaite, but the 19-year-old struggled to impact proceedings.
Before being substituted at half-time, the Colombian registered only 11 touches of the ball, completing five of his six attempted passes and having one shot, a left-footed attempt from open play that drifted wide of Jordan Pickford’s post.
Against what was a very physically imposing Toffees’ backline, Duran won one of his three aerial duels but lost his only battle on the ground as he was afforded little space or time to get up to the speed of the game and have a substantial effect on the game.
It wasn’t exclusively Duran who struggled for Aston Villa however, as when Ollie Watkins came on at half-time he only touched the ball 17 times and didn’t even contest a single aerial duel, but did however win both his duels on the ground.
Duran has proven he can impact games from the bench as his two Premier League goals so far this season have both come having been introduced as a substitute and he does still average a league strike every 57 minutes of action. But he may not be ready to lead the Villa frontline on his own, especially against physically strong sides.
During Villa’s 4-0 demolition of Everton earlier this season, Watkins showed exactly how to play as a striker against the Toffees as despite having only 22 touches in 74 minutes on the field, he caused Sean Dyche’s side all sorts of problems.
Watkins won a penalty as he contested Pickford for a loose ball, but also created three chances for his teammates and should have even scored himself in the second half as he missed a right-footed effort with an expected goals of 0.34 [Fotmob]
Even though he lost all three of his aerial duels that afternoon, he hassled the defence with his pace to create space for his teammates and occupy defenders, while completing 100 per cent of his nine attempted passes.
Villa’s congested fixture schedule with Europa Conference League games on the horizon means that Duran will have plenty more opportunities to show he has what it takes to be Aston Villa’s number nine. But he has to ensure that he remains involved in matches consistently.
He had a similar issue against Legia Warsaw as he did against Everton, only having nine touches of the ball, but at the level, he made sure every moment counted. He completed 100 per cent of his three passes and hit the target with two of his three shots including his goal after six minutes [Fotmob].
Against Premier League sides that clinical nature will come in time, but it feels as though Duran just isn’t quite ready for that and that’s the bonus of having Watkins ready and eager to start the biggest matches.
A lesson was certainly learned.
In other Aston Villa news, Gabby Agbonglahor was asking too much of Emery’s side to not make changes for the cup clash