Aston Villa: Unai Emery must be bold and axe Youri Tielemans after anonymous display v Chelsea
Unai Emery will tempted to make several changes to his Aston Villa side when they take on Manchester United and one player most likely to be ditched is Youri Tielemans.
The Belgian had a stuttering start to life in Birmingham with several reports claiming that he didn’t have the trust of his manager which led to his staggered appearances since his move on a free transfer last summer.
Tielemans was urged to take this opportunity, having started just 13 of his 27 matches for the Villans so far this season, but appearing as an important player in several cameos.
The Belgian was flawless in another start against the Blades at Bramall Lane (3 February), scoring a sublime effort and linking up effortlessly with Ollie Watkins, and Douglas Luiz.
However, Tielemans turned into Dr Jekyll against Chelsea as he was completely anonymous against Mauricio Pochettino’s men in their disappointing 3-1 defeat at Villa Park in the FA Cup fourth-round replay.
Chelsea comprehensively outclassed Unai Emery’s men on Wednesday (8 February).
Goals from Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez ensured a disappointing night for Aston Villa and their fans but one which will give Emery some serious food for thought ahead of some crucial fixtures, starting against Manchester United on Sunday.
Youri Tielemans could be ditched for Jacob Ramsey
Tielemans has regularly proved his quality against big teams in an Aston Villa shirt.
He assisted the only goal of the game in a vital 1-0 victory over current Premier League champions Manchester City.
Starting as an attacking midfielder, supporting Ollie Watkins in the final third, the 26-year-old maintained a 77 per cent passing completion against one of the best teams in world football, completing 100 per cent of his dribbles, as well as aerial duels won. [FotMob]
Despite his lack of playing time, Tielemans has created two big chances and six chances for Villa, as well as completing 0.8 dribbles per 90 minutes – the same as Douglas Luiz and Watkins. [FotMob]
Tieleman’s impact from the bench is also unmatched. He averages 1.1 interceptions per 90 minutes, the fourth-highest in the squad, but is also ranked the sixth-highest for fouls committed, showing his determination to be involved.
And it’s fair to say, he may have to start from the bench on Sunday (11 February) after a lifeless display against Chelsea.
As per SofaScore, in his advanced midfield role, Tielemans failed to set the tone for Villa, registering just one key pass in his 71 minutes on the pitch.
The former Leicester City maestro also failed to complete one of his dribble attempts and was also surprisingly abject in his passing recording a disappointing 60 per cent pass success rate which is uncharacteristic of a player of his piercing quality.
Tielemans also failed to register a single shot all game but it was his work ethic from the front which will have Emery massively reeling.
At several instances during the game, Chelsea were afforded the freedom of Birmingham, bypassing the Villa press with ease and it was down to Tielemans failing to match the intensity of his partner Watkins up front that left the Villans terribly exposed.
The Belgian was a passenger all game which didn’t help Luiz and Boubacar Kamara all game.
In the image above – the aftermath of Aston Villa’s poor pressing – the hosts’ defensive shape is all wrong and Chelsea are given the freedom to work the ball into the final third and score the first goal.
Tielemans (red dot) lacked the aggression and intensity in the first phase of Chelsea’s build-up and is left watching on as he leaves his midfield teammates to fend for themselves in a dejected defensive shape.
It’s instances such as this that will have angered Emery and the Spaniard has the ideal solution to that problem in Jacob Ramsey who has proven devastating in defending from the front under Emery’s tutelage before.
Ramsey had proven an almighty part of that because of his tenacious energy and aggression when attempting to win the ball back, evidenced by his 0.7 interceptions, 2.0 tackles, 0.5 possessions won per game, and winning 51% of his ground duels last season [SofaScore].
The average of 2.0 tackles per game has remained into this season before his unfortunate injury, while 4.6 duels won per game and 1.3 fouls drawn also showed how effective he can be at easing pressure on his side.
With the young Englishman back in full fettle and ready to start from the off, Emery has found his ideal solution to exposing Manchester United and that means Tielemans should be left watching on from the bench on Sunday.
In other Aston Villa news, Ian Wright has delivered his verdict on the Douglas Luiz to Arsenal transfer talk.
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