Matty Cash in line for Aston Villa start v Bologna despite what he did at Fulham
Matty Cash could be in line to start for Aston Villa against Bologna on Tuesday 22 October despite giving away a penalty against Fulham.
The Villans took all three points away from Craven Cottage on Saturday 19 October despite going 1-0 down after Raul Jimenez outmuscled Pau Torres.
Morgan Rogers got the away side back on level terms before the Cottagers had the chance to retake the lead as a penalty was awarded after a handball from the Poland international.
Despite this decision against Cash, he still deserves a chance in the Champions League against the Serie A outfit at Villa Park.
Matty Cash gives away penalty against Fulham
The 27-year-old has given away seven penalties in the Premier League since joining the Villans in 2020, the fifth most in Premier League history [premierleague.com].
The clash against Fulham saw him give away his latest spot kick for a blatant handball inside his own area.
It will be argued by the right back that there was a close proximity to Jimenez whose downward header was unlikely to find a teammate.
With that being said, Cash’s arm is fully extended out to the side and out of the silhouette which VAR judges handball decisions against.
It is unclear what the Villa defender was doing with his arm out in this position but once VAR took a second look and sent Darren England over to the monitor, it was curtains.
Luckily for the Villans, Emi Martinez made an expert penalty save up against Andreas Pereira to keep the scores level.
Matty Cash could start for Aston Villa v Bologna
It has to be said that Cash didn’t let this error affect his game as he played on and helped to take all three points away from West London.
This saw him take 68 touches throughout the 90 minutes and Unai Emery would have been pleased to see him maintain a 92 per cent pass accuracy across his 38 attempts [FotMob].
Defensively, the Pole could have contributed more but did still chip in with four clearances and one interception.
On a positive note, he did win five duels and lost just two, maintaining a 100 per cent aerial success rate which isn’t a typical characteristic of his game.
His performance overall was useful but after giving away yet another penalty, he really needs to work on that element of his game.
Despite this, he should be in line to make his first Champions League appearance on the right side of defence against Bologna.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery’s side have joined the race to sign a Brentford ace amid the latest top-six development.
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