Unai Emery now has Aston Villa headache after what Tyrone Mings did vs Crystal Palace
Aston Villa star Tyrone Mings was “comfortable” on his first appearance in over a year in their 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on 30 October.
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail after the match (30 October), Unai Emery said that the EFL Cup fourth-round tie was the right time to bring Mings back into the Villans side for the first time in 14 months.
Mings has been out since suffering a knee injury on the opening day of last season, but after a full 90 minutes against Palace, the 31-year-old will be keen to put pressure on Pau Torres in Villa’s starting XI.
Emery said: “I am focusing trying to be intelligent, firstly with the players who are coming back after a long injury and also with players who need chances to play and get minutes and confidence.
“We need minutes because at the beginning of the match, Mings was getting progressively better but it is normal that after over a year that needed time to feel comfortable. He finished tired, but feeling good.”
Tyrone Mings takes step towards Aston Villa Premier League return
Getting a 90 minutes under his belt for the first time in over a year will do Mings the world of good, and despite their EFL Cup exit leaving less opportunities of minutes, a Premier League return could beckon.
Having one effort in the box blocked and creating a chance with one of his 10 passes into the final third [FotMob], Mings was involved at both ends as Villa looked to turn things around in the second half.
Mings completed 58 of his 72 attempted passes, a success rate of 81 per cent, but could only find a target with 30 per cent of his 10 long balls forward into the visitors’ half.
However, the 31-year-old was impervious at the back and looked like he’d never been away, putting in 10 defensive actions in total including five clearances, four interceptions, and a further three ball recoveries.
The centre-back’s giant frame is something Villa have missed in defence, as was highlighted by his 88 per cent aerial duel success rate [FotMob], winning seven of eight in the air and another on the deck.
Torres and Ezri Konsa will be hard to displace in having raised the standard for Villa in Mings’ absence, but performances like the one on his return will make the veteran a hard player for Emery to ignore.
It is a very welcome headache for Emery to have at Villa Park, though.
In other Aston Villa news, Ian Darke showered praise on one Villan star after he picked up a significant gong at the Ballon D’Or awards.
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