Clement Lenglet will be disappointed in Aston Villa loss v Olympiacos despite Emery ‘thumbs up’
Aston Villa were handed a blow to their Europa Conference League hopes as they lost 4-2 to Olympiacos at Villa Park on Thursday (2 May).
An Ayoub El Kaabi hat-trick sandwiched strikes from Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby before Santiago Hezze helped the Greek side reclaim their two-goal advantage.
Douglas Luiz had the chance to reduce the deficit from the penalty spot but saw his effort clip the post, leaving Villa with a disappointing night at home in the semi-final first leg.
With four goals shipped at home, the centre-back duo of Ezri Konsa and Clement Lenglet will certainly be questioned, with both Diego Carlos and Pau Torres on the bench.
It can be argued that the latter was at fault for the opening goal on the night, stepping forward to win the ball but missing, leaving a gaping hole in the backline for El Kabbi to take advantage of.
Despite this, the Frenchman showed positive signs and seemed to keep Emery’s faith.
Taking to X on Thursday (2 May), Jacob Tanswell wrote: “An excellent diagonal pass from Clement Lenglet finds Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby runs inside and shoots from a tight angle and goes between Tzolakis and the near post.
“Emery gives a thumbs up to Lenglet – keep attacking down the right!”
Aston Villa fail defensively in Europa Conference League clash
While Lenglet’s strong passing, maintaining a 97 per cent accuracy at Villa Park, is key to how Villa build their attacks from defence, it was clear that something was missing in the backline. [FotMob]
Many eyebrows were raised when the starting XI was announced, with many calling for either one of Carlos and Torres to be part of the back four, and Lenglet’s statistics confirmed their worries.
Though the 28-year-old made five recoveries throughout the 90 minutes, he won 0 per cent of his ground duels and 0 per cent of his aerial duels, while also making one foul.
Lenglet is capable of adding a lot to Villa’s attack, ranking in the top 99 percentile for progressive carries among centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues, as per FBref, but this left much to be desired in defence.
With a top 30 percentile ranking in tackles, it comes as no surprise to see the defender make zero tackles against Olympiacos and continues to raise questions over Emery’s lineup selection.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery made an error by axing this 82% star from his starting lineup against Olympiacos.
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