Moussa Diaby now in battle to save Aston Villa spot after terrible Europa Conference League display v Zrinjski
Moussa Diaby must pick up his Aston Villa performances after a string of disappointing displays led to his poor showing in the 1-1 Europa Conference League draw against Zrinjski.
The Frenchman has picked up just two goal contributions in his last eight games across all competitions and failed to make an impact as Unai Emery’s side limped to a 1-1 stalemate.
Villa only needed a draw to ensure they finished top of their group in Europe but would have been expecting to take all three points from the clash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Another underwhelming display has vindicated Emery’s decision to leave him on the bench in recent games, as he failed to make an impact from the start despite the relative level of their opponents.
Despite his attacking flair and threat going forward, Diaby failed to have a single shot or record a key pass in his 79 minutes playing from the start against Zrinjski. His 50 per cent dribble success rate was underwhelming, while he won three of his five ground duels in an unremarkable display. [Sofascore]
This performance came following a string of underwhelming showings. A display despite the impressive result against Arsenal at Villa Park saw him record a zero per cent duel success rate and zero per cent cross success rate, losing the ball four times and completing just five passes in 45 minutes.
Going further back to his last two Premier League starts against Fulham and Tottenham, the Frenchman had a zero per cent success rate in aerial duels, won just two of eight round duels, played 18 passes and completed just two dribbles in 107 minutes of football which led to Emery dropping him to the bench.
Having started on the bench in each of their last three Premier League games, Diaby will be looking to step up his performances and earn his starting place yet again, but with the way he has played recently, it looks like he will struggle to earn that spot.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton made a new admission after the Arsenal result.