Aston Villa: Moussa Diaby wasteful as he ruins chance for Ollie Watkins to break Premier League record v Burnley
Aston Villa came close to rueing a plethora of missed chances against Burnley as Douglas Luiz unleashed a stoppage-time winner against them via the penalty spot on Saturday.
It has been a tough couple of weeks for Unai Emery’s Villans, slipping from a 2-0 lead to a 3-2 loss against Manchester United following a disappointing 1-1 draw with Sheffield United before Christmas.
Villa could have marked a third consecutive match without a win if not for Luiz’s 89th-minute penalty to take all three points from a frantic affair at Villa Park.
However, Villa may not have had to sweat over a last-minute spot-kick from the Brazilian if not for Moussa Diaby’s lack of accuracy in front of goal.
Although the Frenchman scored the third goal of the match, struggling to miss an open goal from six yards out, Diaby could only register 33 per cent of his six total shots on target – shots that could have finished the game off way before Burnley’s late surge. [FotMob]
Three of his shots amounted to a measly xG of 0.24, with an average of 0.08. With six shots throughout the match, an xG of 1.47 is rather disappointing as he recorded his first Premier League goal since late October.
With Ollie Watkins tallying up two assists, for Diaby’s sitter and Leon Bailey’s opener, the England international could have had far more if the former was able to put his chances away.
Villa’s leading goalscorer this season was far more selfless against Burnley and could have broken the all-time Premier League record for the most assists in one game – four. Watkins was responsible for the lead-up to four of Diaby’s strikes but with an xA (expected assists) of just 0.71, the French forward’s shooting clearly needs working on.
Not only would Watkins have broken the record, but Villa would have been high and dry against Burnley before their opposition even had a chance to blink. But this is no surprise with Diaby’s poor displays in recent weeks.
Despite a positive start to the season, moving to the Midlands from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, the 24-year-old star has only recorded two goals in 16 Premier League appearances since scoring twice in Villa’s opening three games.
Although primarily a winger, Emery has deputised the player either alongside Watkins as a striker or slightly behind him as a centre-forward. In comparison to other strikers in the division, Diaby boasts a top 73 percentile ranking for shots taken but can only rank in the 33 percentile for non-penalty goals. [FBref]
His xG is also very low compared to the quality of the division, ranking in the 42 percentile for non-penalty xG.
For a club-record fee of £51.9million, as per TNT Sports, there has been a much higher expectation surrounding the French forward. And Emery will hope he can step up ahead of a busy season of Premier League, FA Cup and Europa Conference League matches.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery may be forced into a transfer U-turn by one key player.