Pat Nevin wowed by ‘very, very special’ Ezri Konsa after what he did in Aston Villa win v Manchester City
Aston Villa earned themselves a massive three points with their narrow victory over Manchester City at Villa Park.
Leon Bailey was the hero of the Premier League clash, with the winger scoring the only goal of the game to secure a 1-0 win for the hosts.
The huge win means Villa have now leapfrogged Manchester City in the table, with the former sitting third and the latter now in fourth.
Bailey certainly deserves plenty of credit for his match winner, but at the other end of the pitch there was a mammoth effort from Ezri Konsa.
The Villa defender was crucial in keeping a clean sheet for the hosts, with his stunning individual display involving six out of six duels won (100%), a 92% passing accuracy, three tackles, one interception and one clearance, as per Sofascore.
He even completed his only dribble attempt (100%), and could have got on the scoresheet himself having missed one big chance.
Konsa certainly caught the eye of Pat Nevin at Villa Park, with the pundit saying on BBC Radio 5 Live (10.05pm, 6 December): “He’s been brilliant. Every defensive play he’s been superb. He’s been calm on the ball going forward there. He looks a very, very special player tonight.”
Making the performance more impressive was the fact that Konsa was playing at right-back as opposed to his natural centre-back role.
But that didn’t phase the England international, who was key as Villa kept Erling Haaland quiet, an achievement that not many defenders can boast given how the Manchester City ace leads the way with 14 goals for the campaign.
Konsa got the nod from Emery ahead of Matty Cash once more, and the latter will now undoubtedly find it very hard to get back into the team.
In other Aston Villa news, one 17 G/A Villa star has been “unleashed” under Emery, he must be kept at Villa Park at all costs.