Matty Cash faces fight to win back Unai Emery faith at Aston Villa, he was nowhere to be seen v Burnley
All may not be well for Matty Cash at Aston Villa after the defender was nowhere to be seen in their crucial 3-2 win over Burnley.
The Villans moved level with Premier League leaders Liverpool as a late Douglas Luiz penalty secured victory against 10-man Burnley on Saturday (30 December).
The Brazilian midfielder converted from the penalty spot in the 89th minute after Jhon Duran was fouled by former Villa player Aaron Ramsey.
Aston Villa made hard work of their task against Vincent Kompany’s men being pegged back twice after Zeki Amdouni and Lyle Foster equalisers cancelling out Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby’s goals.
Burnley still possessed the prowess and quality to disrupt the Villans despite seeing Sander Berge sent off for a second bookable offence 11 minutes after half-time but Luiz’s emphatic penalty sealed all three points in a carnage football match in Birmingham.
The victory moves Villa onto 42 points and behind Liverpool only on goal difference, with the Reds set to host Newcastle United on New Year’s Day.
However, when the teams were announced before the game, several Aston Villa fans may well have been shocked to find that Polish international Cash was nowhere to be seen in the matchday squad for the game.
It was said that Cash was out with illness but what about his absence from the 3-2 defeat against Manchester United?
Cash has undergone something of a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde type of form so far this campaign and has been dropped at numerous points this season with Emery favouring Ezri Konsa as a right-back.
With the January transfer window approaching, it won’t be a surprise to see the Spaniard splash the cash on another right-back which means Cash faces an almost impossible task of winning back the trust of his manager, and recent performances leave him in a spot of bother.
Against Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar during their impressive 4-1 win in the reverse fixture at the AFAS Stadium on 26 October, Cash was handed the worst average score of any Villa player [via SofaScore] at a dreadful 6.2/10 and his underlying stats proved why.
The former Forest man won just three of his eight duels at a worrying success rate of 38% lost possession 11 times and completed just one dribble given he’s expected to provide Villa with the width on the right.
The Luton Town win saw an improved performance, registering two key passes, one big chance created, successfully completing 50% of his dribbles and 92% of his passes but again Mr Hyde reared his ugly head as he was woeful against Forest on Sunday (5 November).
As per SofaScore, the Pole failed to win 100% of his total duels, failed to register a single tackle, failed with 100% of his dribbles, only touched the ball 49 touches, completed one key pass and lost possession of the ball seven times before being dragged off with a shoulder injury.
Since that display, the Pole has lost his permanent place at right back with Emery somewhat losing trust in him for the testing fixtures most notably against Manchester City and Arsenal but his inconsistent form was on show again against Brentford (17 December).
As per SofaScore, Cash was again handed the worst average rating of any Aston Villa player to start the game at 6.4/10, completing zero per cent of his crosses, and long balls and winning 50 per cent of his total duels.
The former Nottingham Forest defender also failed to register a single key pass, lost possession of the ball 12 times and won just one tackle before being hooked off after 65 minutes.
Since then, Cash has started just once, missing out the 3-2 defeat against Manchester United and Burnley on Saturday (30 December). How the Pole earns his first-team spot on a regular basis again remains incredibly uncertain. It’s safe to assume things may not be looking good for the former Nottingham Forest man.
In other Aston Villa news, a doctor delivered a new verdict on Tyrone Mings.