Aston Villa: Lucas Digne could stay stuck behind Alex Moreno after bizarre Unai Emery row
Lucas Digne may have headed a dramatic 89th-minute Aston Villa winner in the 3-2 victory over Luton Town at the weekend (2 February) but he has struggled to get into the team of late.
The Frenchman started the season as the regular starter at left-back but has recently lost his place to Alex Moreno in Unai Emery’s back line, and even found himself caught up in a bizarre row with his manager while sat on the bench in the 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest a week earlier 24 February.
Emery brushed off the exchange afterwards, via Metro (25 February), as: “Something I am discussing with the players on the bench, some tactical ideas their team-mates are taking, and trying to advise them.”
Lucas Digne in strange Aston Villa row with Unai Emery
But, much like the manager was seemingly unimpressed by what Digne, 30, was offering from the Villa Park bench, statistics suggest that the manager’s tactical ideas are accurate in putting him there in the first place.
According to Opta stats from FBRef.com it is Spaniard Moreno, also 30, who has proven the more defensively sound option this season, and while there are elements where Digne is superior, he probably doesn’t tip the balance in his favour.
While the former Everton defender attempts more tackles per game (1.58 to Moreno’s 1.39), and does so higher up the pitch, it is the ex-Betis man who is more successful, winning 0.94 per game to Digne’s 0.64.
Similarly, Moreno puts in more blocks (0.74 to 0.6), and makes more clearances (3.43 to 2.19), while also narrowly edging his teammate in the interception stats (1.01 to 1).
Digne is far more effective in the air, winning 63.2% of his aerial duels compared to Moreno’s 26.7%, but that dominance is likely not enough to convince Emery to make a switch in his regular starting line up.
Alex Moreno proving more effective overall in Villans XI
In possession the numbers suggest that the current back-up is more involved the further forward Aston Villa are, as Moreno has more touches per 90 minutes in his own area (3.52) and defensive third (22.1) than Digne (2.56 and 16.7 respectively), while the balance shifts in the middle and attacking thirds where the Frenchman then has more (23.2 and 24.7 vs 19.8 and 19.1 for Moreno), although they are close in the opposition box (Digne – 2.42 and Moreno – 2.59).
Yet even with the ball it may be the Spaniard who is more forward-thinking, as he has far more success in taking opponents on (46.4% compared to Digne’s 23.8%), while covering more distance with the ball per game (110.2 yards vs 67.9) on more progressive carries (3.24 vs 1.67).
So while Digne has proven he is still an effective part of the Aston Villa squad it looks like his manager is right to leave him out for now, and after he was shouted down by the ex-Villarreal boss he might also now wish to keep his tactical suggestions to himself.
There have been stand-outs all through the Villa side this season in an attacking and defensive sense, but in left-back terms it looks like Moreno is the man to beat.
In other Aston Villa news, the club struck while the iron was hot with new contract news this term.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.