Moussa Diaby stuck in ‘bad period’ after what Aston Villa expert noticed v Olympiacos
Dan Bardell has suggested that a lack of confidence caused Moussa Diaby to perform poorly against Olympiacos as Aston Villa were knocked out of the Conference League.
The Villans travelled to Greece knowing they had to overturn a two-goal deficit from the first leg but it wasn’t to be as the home side secured a 2-0 win.
The defeat left plenty of fans frustrated especially given the performances of some players, none more so than Diaby.
Sky Sports and talkSPORT journalist Bardell has suggested that the forward has a lack of belief which is harming his form and has compared him to Leon Bailey and his first season.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “He looked like a brilliant signing; a step up from the kind of player than Villa had before. You really thought at the start of the season this guy is going to be a difference maker.
“There’s a lesson in this from Leon Bailey that you might not see the best in someone in their first season. Now Bailey is must start for Villa so I’m not writing Diaby off.
“It was clear [against Olympiacos] that he’s struggling with a lack of confidence and belief causing a lack of end product.
“At times it felt like players were reluctant to give him the ball, he always seems to be the first one off when we make a sub. He’s going through a bad period there’s no doubt.”
What has gone wrong for Moussa Diaby at Aston Villa?
The Frenchman signed from Bayer Leverkusen for £51.9m [BBC Sport] in a move which was met with plenty of fanfare.
This excitement was well placed after Diaby scored two goals and an assist in his opening five Premier League games.
Since then he has managed to total six goals and seven assists [FotMob] in his debut season in England but performances have been lacking at points.
Against Olympiacos, according to FotMob, he made just one successful dribble, zero successful crosses and no shots throughout the game [FotMob].
He has arguably suffered from burnout given the amount of football he has played across the season.
Diaby has missed just one matchday squad so far this season which means he has featured 52 times for the Villans this campaign.
His goal and assist numbers are very good for a debut season. If he can show the performances from the start of the season then Villa have a proper player on their hands.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery now backed to get rid of Clement Lenglet and sign a replacement on a free transfer, offer made.
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