Aston Villa: Nicolo Zaniolo must be finished under Unai Emery after anonymous cameo v Lille
Aston Villa may not have been at their best, but Unai Emery’s side did enough to take a crucial lead into the second leg of their clash with Lille.
Excellent goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn partnered with a superb display between the posts from Emi Martinez ensured that the Villans picked up a 2-1 lead at Villa Park on Thursday (11 April) before next week’s return leg in France.
Despite a strong first-half showing, Villa took their foot off of the gas in the final stages of the contest and that coincided with the introduction of Nicolo Zaniolo who really struggled to get involved in proceedings.
The 24-year-old only registered seven touches of the ball in his 24 minutes of action after replacing Morgan Rogers in the second half but still managed to be dispossessed once in that ineffective cameo, according to Fotmob.
On top of that, the Italian international only completed two of his three attempted passes, finishing the game with a completion rate of only 67 per cent, the lowest of any of Aston Villa’s five second-half substitutes.
When he did try to impact the game going forward, Zaniolo couldn’t even pick out a teammate in claret and blue as his only attempted cross in the clash at Villa Park sailed past everyone and was easily dealt with by the Lille defence.
Out of possession, the Galatasaray loanee did very little to impress either, as he failed to win any of his three ground duels and committed a clumsy foul to put the pressure back on Emery’s side in the closing stages of the match.
When compared to other midfielders in the Europa Conference League this season, Zaniolo places in the ninth percentile for tackles made per 90 minutes, with an average of only 0.86 every game, according to Fbref.
To make that statistic even more damning, the 24-year-old places in the bottom three per cent of his positional peers for tackles won per game in Europe this season, with an average of only 0.29 a game this term.
It isn’t like the Italian makes up for his lack of defensive work with his end product in the final third either as 97 per cent of midfielders make more passes into the final third than him a game and 91 per cent register more progressive passes.
While his goal output has been reasonably strong in Europe since arriving in England, scoring and assisting once in 314 minutes of action, he has still managed to underperform his xG by 0.06 a game, a figure worse than 73 per cent of his peers.
Will Aston Villa sign Nicolo Zaniolo permanently this summer in the transfer window?
Zaniolo’s poor performances partnered with his comments surrounding his future at Villa Park will likely mean that Emery and his recruitment team will have already made an ultimate decision about his future in England.
Having flattered to deceive in the Premier League and even shushed his own supporters in recent weeks, the Italian international must surely now be finished at Villa Park. With the other attacking talent at Emery’s disposal, Zaniolo cannot keep featuring week in and week out.
In other Aston Villa news, Villa forward Watkins won’t push for the exit door this summer despite his latest comments
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.