Aston Villa ace Moussa Diaby wows with ‘electric’ 85% cameo v Sheffield United
Aston Villa were back to their very best under Unai Emery as they smashed Sheffield United 5-0 at Bramall Lane.
John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans and Alex Moreno all got on the scoresheet in the huge win on Saturday (3 February).
But impressing from the bench was winger Moussa Diaby, who entered the match in the 60th minute for the in-form Bailey.
Diaby almost gets in on Aston Villa rout
The former has found it difficult to land regular minutes due to the top displays of the latter, with Diaby forced to prove himself to Emery from the bench at Bramall Lane.
And he did just that, with the summer signing almost getting in on the action in the 72nd minute, only for Sheffield United goalkeeper Wes Foderingham to deny his shot from inside the box.
Despite the ball not finding the back of the net, the attempt still impressed pundit Don Goodman, who said live on Sky Sports Premier League (7.02pm, 3 February), as quoted by Sky Sports: “That was the Diaby we saw at the start of the season. Electric, quick feet.”
With Bailey on the scoresheet, Diaby may find himself on the bench once more during the FA Cup fourth round replay against Chelsea on Wednesday (7 February), but he has at least given Emery something to think about.
As per Sofascore, the Aston Villa attacker won two of his four duels against the Blades, and completed 11 of his 13 passes (85%), one of which was key, with Diaby also completing two of his three dribble attempts.
It was, however, somewhat unsurprisingly star man Ollie Watkins who was named Player of the Match, with the striker becoming the first player to record 10+ of both goals and assists in the Premier League this season [Sky Sports Statto, 3 February], and indeed the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to achieve that feat [Squawka, 3 February].
In other Aston Villa news, one Villa star produced a 100% stunner against Chelsea recently, with Mauricio Pochettino dubbing him “amazing.”
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