Andy Townsend wowed by what Youri Tielemans did in Aston Villa win v Man City
Andy Townsend waxed lyrical about Youri Tielemans after he played a crucial role in Jhon Duran’s opener as Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday.
The Belgium international displayed a brilliant bit of footwork in his own half before playing a splendid through ball to Morgan Rogers, who then put the ball on a plate for Duran as Unai Emery’s side claimed all three points at Villa Park on 21 December.
Townsend was blown away by the way in which the former Leicester star pulled the strings in the lead-up to the goal, dubbing his pass to Rogers as “sublime”.
“What a brilliant bit of football, what a great goal this is!”, the pundit said on Premier League productions‘ world feed (21 December, 12:49 pm).
“Youri Tielemans does so well initially to just find that little bit of space, and once he gets it and releases Morgan Rogers, there’s no stopping him.
“Watch Youri Tielemans here, just skips past that first challenge and lays that ball, which is just sublime, it’s brilliant!
“But, then the work from Morgan Rogers, he’s aware, he knows where Jhon Duran is.
“As [Manuel] Akanji closes him down, he just rolls it to his mate and says, ‘Go on, knock that one in the back of the net for us’. That’s a brilliant, brilliant goal.”
Unai Emery move pays off as Tielemans shines for Aston Villa
Tielemans has more often than not started in a double pivot for Aston Villa this season, but Emery played him in a much more advanced role on Saturday.
The move clearly paid off as the Belgian pulled the strings for the Birmingham-based club as they claimed a convincing victory over the reigning champions.
Unlike the other attackers, Tielemans did not register a goal or assist in the game, but that takes nothing away from the fact that he was one of the best players on the pitch.
He single-handedly bypassed the City midfield on multiple occasions, with the opposition players struggling to deal with his half-turns and passes.
Rogers will understandably dominate headlines after Saturday’s result, but Tielemans deserves due credit for his role in the game.
It remains to be seen if Emery will be tempted to continue playing the 27-year-old in an advanced position after he impressed against Pep Guardiola’s side.
In other Aston Villa news, this Villa ace sent a message to Dele Alli after he announced his Everton departure.
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