Emery cannot overlook Duran after ‘clever’ moment for Aston Villa v Brentford
Unai Emery has to break the mould and start Jhon Duran for Aston Villa if they want to continue their winning streak after beating Brentford 3-1 on Wednesday night.
The Villans have been in something of a rut recently, and while their Premier League victory against Thomas Frank’s men is a step in the right direction, it feels like a lot more could come from the team.
Emery’s men now sit seventh in the top flight and are just four points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City.
If Emery wants his team to build on their midweek win, the best way for him to do that could be by starting Duran against Southampton on 7 December.
During the moment in question, the ball came floating towards Duran who was in the middle of the park with his flick-on towards Emi Buendia almost opening things up for the Villans once again.
Speaking live on Amazon Prime Sports (4 December, 22:02pm), commentator Steve Wilson shared his thoughts on the flick on the Colombia international made that almost helped lead Villa to another goal.
“[Jhon] Duran, clever, [Emi] Buendia also clever [Mads] Roerslev trying to force Jhon Duran away from Brentford’s danger area,” Wilson said.
Lucy Ward then followed up with: “He’s such an effective player Jhon Duran, isn’t he”.
Jhon Duran is the answer Aston Villa have been looking for
This season, one of the main debates from Villa Park has been which of their three strikers deserves a chance to start.
Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers and Duran have all been in fine form this season but the former of the two have been the ones most regularly chosen.
In their future games, however, this should be something Emery considers changing because, as per Sofascore, it’s evident the impact Duran had when entering the pitch.
During the 25 minutes he was on the pitch, the striker had 21 touches of the ball and maintained a pass accuracy of 92 per cent.
He also managed to have two shots on target and while one went wayward, the amount of energy he brought to the team was evident.
These shots resulted in an xG of 0.51 and while he did miss a big chance, as a striker, you’re not expected to bag every shot you take.
Duran also made two key passes in his short time on the pitch and while he only attempted one long ball, it went to where it was anticipated to go.
He also proved his worth defensively by winning 100 per cent of his ground duels and 50 per cent of those in the air.
The season is still young of course but with the form all three of the Villans’ strikers find themselves in, Emery is going to have some difficult decisions to make in the near future.
In other Aston Villa news, Darren Bent has shared a “crazy” verdict after Unai Emery sack talk he’s heard.
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