Matty Cash shares honest Aston Villa assessment to teammates after Juventus draw
Matty Cash has demanded his Aston Villa teammates “adapt” to officiating in European competition after his side saw a vital goal disallowed in the 0-0 draw against Juventus.
The Villans welcomed Juventus to Villa Park for the hugely-anticipated Champions League clash on Wednesday [28 November] and saw the three points snatched away in the closing stages as Morgan Rogers’ strike was contentiously ruled out.
However, Cash refused to blame referee Gil Manzano for blowing the whistle on Diego Carlos for a foul on goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio in post-match comments, as relayed by The Mirror [28 November], and believes his side must exercise caution in Europe.
He said: “The referee was stood near me, so I could see he had blown. I didn’t run over and celebrate, because I knew. But I don’t think anyone else knew it wasn’t a goal.
“Obviously, European football is a little bit different. No disrespect to the referees but you probably have a lot more fouls in European football, as we found out last year in the Conference League.
“You have to adapt. You can’t really touch a lot of players now, or it’s a foul. I said to the referee tonight, it is difficult, in big games managing every situation. We all make mistakes and sometimes the refs are going to make mistakes.”
Matty Cash was back to his best for Aston Villa v Juventus
While the Aston Villa faithful will undoubtedly feel two massive points have been dropped in the Champions League, Carlos ultimately gave the referee a decision to make in the moment, which has cost his side the victory.
However, a share of the spoils feels like a fair result as Emi Martinez rescued his side with a heroic point-blank save midway through the second half to deny Francisco Conceicao the opener.
Regardless, Aston Villa remain within sight of securing a top-eight finish in the Champions League and will have no problem achieving this feat if Cash consistently replicates his stellar display against Juventus.
The 27-year-old has struggled with injuries throughout the campaign but rediscovered his form at Villa Park, particularly in the business end of the pitch, completing 100 per cent of his 36 passes.
Indeed, he also completed 100 per cent of his long balls and 50 per cent of his dribbles on the night [Sofascore].
Furthermore, he dealt with the difficult task of facing Conceicao on the right flank with ease, winning 50 per cent of his duels and making three tackles, two interceptions and one clearance.
Cash ranks particularly highly in terms of clearances in the Premier League, averaging around three a game [FBref], which ranks him in the top 17 percentile of all full-backs across Europe’s top five leagues.
Aston Villa can be more than pleased with the display against Juventus, considering that two years ago, Champions League qualification was nothing but a pipe dream, but now, they are competing with the European elite under Emery.
If they follow the example set by Cash against Juve, they will have no problems in reaching the knockout rounds.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery could axe Youri Tielemans for Villans after what Paul Merson saw against Juventus.
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