Unai Emery makes glaring error as Moussa Diaby starts for Aston Villa v Liverpool
Unai Emery has made a glaring error with his Aston Villa team after naming Moussa Diaby in the starting lineup to face Liverpool.
The Villans host Jurgen Klopp’s side knowing that a victory will see them confirm their place in the 2024/25 Champions League competition, and Emery has made just one change to his side from the 2-0 defeat to Olympiacos last week.
Youri Tielemans gets the nod in midfield, returning from injury, to replace Matty Cash who misses out on the squad entirely.
Ezri Konsa will shift to right-back with Pau Torres and Diego Carlos in the centre, while Tielemans joins John McGinn and Douglas Luiz in midfield.
Moussa Diaby should have been dropped for Aston Villa
Diaby had an absolute stinker in Athens with a poor showing from the wing, after a poor first leg too, as the team crashed out of the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
According to SofaScore, the French winger managed to complete just one of four dribble attempts, 16 of 20 passes and completed zero of his cross attempts for a 0% success rate.
He also lost four of his five ground duels in the game and failed to have a single shot in the game before he was hooked by Emery before the hour mark.
Starting him in another hugely important game sends the wrong message to the squad, and there are options on the bench in Jhon Duran and Nicolo Zaniolo who could have made a difference and would be chomping at the bit to get a start at Villa Park against Liverpool.
In an ideal world this mistake won’t come back to haunt the manager, but it could well be a decision that ends up costing the club Champions League football if things begin to spiral.
In other Aston Villa news, Champions League football could see Jack Grealish return this summer.
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