Emery fails in Morgan Rogers Aston Villa experiment after what happened v Club Brugge
Unai Emery failed in an experiment playing Morgan Rogers out wide after Aston Villa fell to defeat against Club Brugge on Wednesday.
The Villans suffered their first loss in the Champions League on 6 November in Belgium thanks to a Hans Vanaken penalty.
This came after Tyrone Mings picked up the ball from an Emi Martinez goal kick which was awarded as a handball by VAR.
This summed up the game for Villa who had a casual nature throughout the clash which may be partially down to the changes made by Emery.
Unai Emery fails in Morgan Rogers Aston Villa experiment v Club Brugge
The 22-year-old has arguably been Villa’s best player so far this season, operating from a number 10 role, in and around Ollie Watkins.
Despite this, the Spaniard opted to start the England Under-21 international as a wide midfielder against Brugge, while John McGinn took up the role as a second striker.
It is safe to say that this didn’t suit either party but Rogers arguably suffered most as he was nowhere near his best in this more foreign position.
This saw him register just 29 touches throughout the clash which allowed him to maintain a 79 per cent pass accuracy across his 19 attempts [FotMob].
What has made the ex-Manchester City youngster so good this campaign is his dribbling but with just one completed across three attempts, in a 33 per cent success rate which is uncharacteristically poor.
Rogers made just one pass into the final third while having both his attempted shots blocked, having to little to no impact going forward.
Being further wide also failed to help him get involved defensively as he didn’t contribute a single tackle while only making one clearance and being dribbled past once.
Emery has to be blamed for the decision as it can be said that it ultimately cost Villa from being more dangerous in forward areas.
Playing your best players out of position to accommodate out-of-form players like McGinn is a strange move, especially in the Champions League.
In other Aston Villa news, an offer to sign one star from Sporting Lisbon is being readied as the delegation heads to Portugal.
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