Unai Emery must drag off rotten Moussa Diaby at half-time, he looks lost for Aston Villa v Zrinjski Mostar
Unai Emery’s squad experiment for Aston Villa against Zrinjski Mostar in the Europa Conference League proved unusually fruitful as they went in at half-time 0-0.
The Villans made the trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina to face Zrinjski on Thursday night (14 December) requiring a point to guarantee a place in the Europa Conference League last 16.
The Premier League outfit had already ensured a spot in the knockout stages, while their opponents are playing for pride having been eliminated with a game to spare.
Emery made as many as eight changes for the game but the Villans were expected to pick up another win on their European adventure regardless.
And Aston Villa started the game brightly when Nicolo Zaniolo was picked out in the Zrinjski 18-yard-box by Alex Moreno but skied his shot in what was a good early chance for the away side inside two minutes.
Zaniolo laid on a sublime cross for Duran inside the penalty area but his tame effort was easily saved by the away goalkeeper.
The West Midlands were patient and probing for much of the first half but struggled to break through. Right-back Matty Cash had an effort on goal from outside the box easily swept up by the Zrinjski goalkeeper.
Italian forward Zaniolo had another shot outside the box easily saved but Emery’s decisions for the game have so far looked a complete failure with several of his fringe players failing to take the opportunity.
However, one player in particular who had proven a start for the Villans earlier in the season but now looks as every bit an expensive waste is summer signing Moussa Diaby.
The former Bayer Leverkusen man hasn’t started for Aston Villa since the 2-1 win over Legia Warsaw two weeks ago (30 November) and hadn’t started in the Premier League since the 2-1 win over Tottenham (26 November) – a game where he completely looked lost.
It was the same story in the first half against Zrinjski on Thursday evening, as he registered 0% key passes for Villa, and no shot on target. Whilst completing 100% of his dribbles [SofaScore], it was in no way influential or dangerous for the Zrinjski defence which looked completely comfortable.
The Frenchman was found inside the box by Moreno this time right before half-time but comically skewed his shot – a mere reflection of his first-half struggles in Bosnia.
He must be dragged off.
In other Aston Villa, one forgotten player may be losing patience with Unai Emery as his bags could already be packed ahead of a January exit.