Ezri Konsa surely faces Aston Villa axe after RB Leipzig debacle
Ezri Konsa has been one of the most reliable players at Aston Villa, but Unai Emery needs to rethink his position after the debacle against RB Leipzig.
The Villans travelled to Germany on Tuesday [10 December] in the Champions League and came away with a 3-2 victory after goals from John McGinn, Jhon Duran and Ross Barkley.
Konsa started at right-back, with Emery playing Matty Cash further up — an experiment that worked out in the end for the Spaniard.
The Lions are now in a convincing position in the Champions League table to make it to the knockout rounds, with a win over Bayern Munich to their name.
While Villa got the three points at the Red Bull Arena, some supporters must have felt the defensive performance could have been better.
Ezri Konsa debacle in RB Leipzig v Aston Villa
Konsa had 68 touches of the ball, 89 per cent passing accuracy and completed 50 per cent of his long balls against Leipzig, as per Sofascore.
The England international lost one of his ground duels, was dribbled past once and conceded possession seven times during the game, putting the Lions under pressure on several occasions.
Villa have relied on their fullbacks to provide threat going forward under Emery, but Konsa didn’t have much of an influence on the game, managing an xA of just 0.01.
The Englishman could also have done better with the two goals the Villans conceded, with the first coming after a cock-up between the right-back and Emi Martinez.
Leipzig scored the second with another long ball played on Konsa’s side, which he failed to clear.
With Nottingham Forest up next on 14 December, Emery can’t afford any slip-ups, and the right-back should be axed in favour of Cash in the lineup.
In other Aston Villa news, one player could be sold to one of the club’s Midland rivals in a January transfer twist.
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