Alex Moreno could face brutal Aston Villa half-time axe after first half struggles v Legia Warsaw
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery made a handful of changes to his starting XI for their clash with Legia Warsaw given the club’s busy schedule.
The Midlands outfit are hosting the Polish side in Europa Conference League group stage action on Thursday (30 November).
And the home club enjoyed a dream start, with summer signing Moussa Diaby netting the opening goal of the game after just four minutes.
Emery’s men could have been forgiven for making a slow start after their superb 2-1 win at Tottenham on Sunday (26 November), but that certainly wasn’t the case.
But it was by no means an outstanding first-half display from the hosts, with one player in particular having an off-night.
After losing his place under Emery due to injury, left-back Alex Moreno has been forced to play second fiddle to Lucas Digne this season due to the latter’s top performances.
But the former was handed his first start of the season against Legia as Emery gave the Frenchman a well-deserved rest ahead of the trip to Bournemouth on Sunday (3 December).
However, Moreno’s return did not exactly go to plan, with the left-back not accurate with his only attempted cross (0%) and only attempted long ball (0%), as well as winning just two of his five duels [Sofascore]. Moreover, the full-back made two fouls in the opening 45 minutes, as well as losing possession six times.
Moreno also only had 24 touches of the ball, with his teammate Boubacar Kamara having almost twice as many (47), with goalkeeper Robin Olsen even having more (27) than the defender.
The home side also lost the opportunity to keep a clean sheet after Ernest Muci levelled for the visitors in the 20th minute at Villa Park.
Moreno can, of course, be excused for not having the best of games, with the defender not having featured for Villa since suffering a hamstring injury against Liverpool back in May.
With Digne waiting in the wings and with Villa needing a goal, the attacking full-back may just be introduced at half-time.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery may be left with no choice but to axe one player after his 0% shocker against Tottenham.